The Billionaire's Proposal Page 9

  My head started spinning with thoughts of the supernatural, but Nick merely gazed down at me with a fond smile. His hand had shot out from nowhere, catching my head just inches from the ground, and while I was dazed to the point of dreaming, he was hardly out of breath.

  He ignored my question, and countered it with another.

  “You had enough yet?”

  A preemptive smirk had settled on the corners of his mouth—just waiting for the victory he was sure would come. The fingers cradling my head tightened, and from the rigid set to his chest, I could have sworn the man was holding in laughter.

  But that victory dance might have to wait.

  Had I had enough...?

  My shock slowly faded as the sensation returned to my hands and feet. I pulled in a quick breath, tasting the sweet scent of his cologne, and gazed up at that sparkling smile. Our eyes locked, but while he might think the fight was over, I was suddenly sure of exactly one thing.

  No. I hadn’t nearly had enough.

  I took a page from his book. I let my actions do the talking for me.

  In a move almost as fast as his, I wrapped my legs around his waist—flipping him over before he had a chance to realize what was happening. It was a trick I’d learned sometime early on in college. It was a trick a lot of us girls had learned, actually. There was a soft ripping of fabric, as my beautiful dress split up the thigh, but at the moment I didn’t care.

  The tables had turned. Now I was the one on top.

  The look on Nick’s face was priceless. Absolutely priceless. It wasn’t often that a guy like him was caught off-guard, and I relished the moment—staring down with a triumphant grin.

  “Is that ready enough for you?”

  He let out a breathless gasp of laughter, still trying to get his bearings. His hands came up tentatively to rest on my thighs, before lowering quickly back down to the mat.

  It was then that I noticed we were frozen in a rather famous sex position.

  It was then that he noticed the giant tear in my dress.

  “That doesn’t look good...” he murmured, running his fingers teasingly up the frayed seam. They got higher and higher. “That doesn’t look good at all.”

  I shivered with every inch.

  How was it, that even on his back, this man still had total control over me? I was using my entire body to keep him down, but he held me breathless with just the tips of his fingers.

  “These things have to be symmetrical, you know.”

  Wait...what?

  There was a sudden rip, followed by a rush of cold air.

  “Nick!” I screamed.

  But it was too late. He had already torn my dress up the other side.

  “You bastard!” The thing was hanging in tattered, silvery ribbons—sporting a slit that went all the way up to my hips. And while it technically might cover everything it needed to, it was only a matter of time before the entire thing gave way. “I can’t believe you just did that!”

  Nick simply folded his hands behind his head, and leaned back with a satisfied smile.

  “There—symmetrical.”

  I let out a gasp of incredulous laughter, and smacked him in the chest. My legs were still straddling his waist, and I felt him stiffen as he gazed up at me with a grin.

  “Do you really have to destroy every priceless dress I have?” I teased, leaning down so that the tips of my hair brushed against his cheek. “First the fountain, now this?”

  The man always had an uncanny knack for destruction, but my wardrobe had never borne the brunt of it until now.

  His eyes danced as he stared up at me, and without thinking, he reached up and caught a dangling curl between his fingers—running it absentmindedly along his lips.

  “I guess I’ll just have to take you out to get another one.”

  I pursed my lips.

  “Until you destroy that one as well?”

  He laughed, dropping his head so his own hair spilled out over the mat. “Yeah—until I destroy that one as well. I’m glad to see you’re catching on.”

  I bit my lip, trying my best to fight back a smile as I leaned dangerously over him.

  “I really liked this dress, you know.”

  “Oh yeah?” His eyes sparkled with a challenge. “What are you going to do about it?”

  “Me?” I pretended to look confused. “Oh—I don’t have to do anything. I don’t know if you understand how fighting works, Nicholas, but you’re the one on your back.”

  He didn’t miss a beat.

  “And you’d rather I was on top?”

  I opened my mouth, then closed it right back up again. Truth be told, it seemed rather counter-intuitive to reply. His eyes flashed and he took my silence as an invitation.

  “Understood.”

  There was another swish of air, and the next thing I knew—we were flying back around again. As I clung to him for balance, all the muscles in his body tightened of one accord, turning into some kind of super-human wall of strength. He pressed me down with a taunting slowness, completely immune to the fact that I was pushing back up against him with all my might.

  It was like fighting against a statue.

  “For fuck’s sake!” I anchored my entire body against him, giggling breathlessly all the while. After only a few seconds, my arms had already begun shaking. “What the hell have you been doing all these years—prowling the rooftops at night, solving crime?”

  He laughed loudly, thoroughly amused with my pathetic struggles.

  “As my publicist, I couldn’t possibly admit such a thing. I’m sure you’d hardly approve.”

  I bet I wouldn’t. But before I could say as much, he beat me to the punch.

  In one graceful motion, he took my hands off his chest and pinned them up above my head. I gasped softly, as he lowered his lips playfully to my ears. “But between you and me, I can think of a lot more interesting things to do with my nights.”

  At this point...I think the fight was officially over.

  My body was pressed flat against the mat, my hands were pinned inescapably above my head, and Nick was hovering just an inch above me, staring down into my eyes.

  He didn’t move. I didn’t move. The hands on the clock froze in place.

  Until...

  With a breathless crash, the two of us came together. Pulling, grasping, clutching...doing anything and everything we could just to hold on.

  That inch of space between us vanished as Nick pressed his body onto mine. His mouth forced mine open in the deepest kiss I’d ever had. His legs hooked around mine—spreading them slightly as he pinned me to the mat. And while one hand continued to imprison my wrists, the other slipped through the ripped fabric stretched across my hips.

  It was here that he paused. He pulled back for a second, glancing down, before his lips pulled up in a sudden grin. “That lingerie I got you from Dior...you’re wearing it.”

  I blushed slightly, taking a second to catch up.

  “You wanted to see it, didn’t you?”

  In a surge of reckless abandon, he bowed his head back to my neck, attacking every inch of skin he could find with a force and passion that took my breath away.

  “For a long time, Abby. I’ve wanted to see it for a long fucking time.”

  Apparently, the man was unaccustomed to waiting.

  Not content to just feel the pricy little number, Nick ripped apart the rest of my dress with a single swipe of his hand. I lay there, flushed and exposed, while he feasted his eyes—taking his time before lowering himself back down on top of me.

  Things got rougher after that. As long as we’d both been waiting, as long as that damn frustration had been building, we suddenly couldn’t wait for even a second more.

  My fingers clawed desperately against the buckle of his belt, ripping it off with a leather hiss and tossing it toward the rest of our clothes. His pants were soon to follow—as was the shirt he’d been wearing beneath the suit.

  It was here that I paused, glancing
anxiously around the abandoned room.

  “Nick,” I whispered, extracting my face from his just long enough to gaze nervously into his eyes, “are you sure we should be doing this here? Maybe we should—”

  “Yes,” he interrupted, running his hands along my lacy bra, “we should absolutely be doing this here.” He unhooked the clasp with a single finger, and the thing slid right off.

  “I’m serious,” I giggled, wriggling around as his lips came down to investigate, “we’re in the middle of a fucking exhibition ring. That irony doesn’t bother you?”

  “Nothing,” he kissed, “can bother me,” another kiss, “right now.”

  My back arched up in pleasure, and he ran two fingers from my chin all the way down my stomach. Then a little lower. Then he started getting creative.

  “Oh my gosh,” I breathed, biting my lip with a moan as his fingers flicked and teased me.

  In hindsight, I didn’t know why I was surprised. The guy had always been good with his hands. But this was another fucking level entirely. At one point, his started trailing little kisses down my stomach, stopping only when my chain of diamonds got caught in his hair.

  We battled with them for a moment, kissing and laughing, until he pulled himself free and brought his lips back to meet mine. All the while, his fingers never missed a beat.

  There was a pressure building. One I didn’t have a hope to control.

  “Nick,” I whispered, if only to say his name. My body arched and writhed against his hand as my lips came up to kiss his throat. “Nick.”

  “That’s it—enough.” He yanked down the elastic band around his waist—just as wanting and impatient as I was. “I can’t take anymore.”

  He threw apart my knees and positioned himself in between, but before we could come together, I backed suddenly away.

  “Wait,” I gasped, propping myself up on my elbows, “not yet.”

  He stared at me incredulously, trying to catch his breath.

  “What the fuck do you mean, not yet?” He shook his head and reached for me again. “I said enough, Abby. No more waiting.”

  It seemed as though Mr. Hunter was used to getting his way both in and out of the bedroom. My lips twisted up in a little smirk. He would have to be taught some manners.

  “And I said to wait.” I shimmied backwards, out of his grasp—and shoved him hard in the chest, pushing him to his feet in the process. “There’s something we need to sort out first. A score we need to settle.”

  Keeping direct eye contact all the time, I stretched up onto my knees.

  He was standing before me, naked and ready, a look of breathless confusion on his face.

  This time, it was me who took a second to feast my eyes—letting them enjoy all those parts I’d never seen before. All those parts that had already gone into New York legend. An impish grin spread up my face, and he actually bowed his head with a little blush.

  Then, for the second time that night, I beckoned him invitingly forward.

  You won the fight, you get the reward...

  For a second, he just stood there—staring. Then, tentatively, he took a step closer. His body stiffened as I wrapped my hands around his legs. It stiffened even more when I kissed him first on one hip, and then on the other. He sucked in a quick breath when I took him in my hand, and trailed a gentle finger down the side of my face.

  “You said you’d never end up on your knees,” he breathed, flashing me a little smile.

  I glanced up with a roguish grin.

  “And you said you’d never beg.”

  His face froze.

  “Beg? Who says I’m going to—FUCKING HELL!”

  His head fell back in complete abandon as I took him into my mouth.

  Truth be told, I’d always rather prided myself on this particular skillset. It was the kind of thing you honed over time, but thanks to my relentless employer, I hadn’t had the opportunity to use it in quite some time.

  No matter. Judging by Nick’s reaction, I was still at the top of my game.

  The faster I moved, the louder the moans. When I started teasing him with little flicks of my tongue, his fingers wound into my hair. And when I raked my teeth playfully down his skin, I thought he was going to fall apart right there.

  “Shit, Abby,” he moaned, bringing his hands up over his face.

  And that...is when I suddenly pulled away.

  His eyes shot open, and he gazed down at me in breathless disorientation.

  “What’s wrong?” he panted, trying to catch his breath.

  I didn’t answer. I just shrugged a coy shoulder.

  My hand was still wrapped around him, and his breath caught in his chest as I gave him a sudden squeeze. He reached for me, but I leaned back another inch, hovering just out of reach.

  “Abby...what are you...?”

  I shrugged again. This time with a sly smile.

  He stared at my naked body for another agonizing second. Then his eyes widened in sudden understanding. His shoulders shook with breathless laughter, as he bowed his head with a grin.

  “Abby...please?”

  My eyes widened innocently, and I shook my head like I didn’t understand.

  “Seriously?” He chuckled again, and shook his head. “This is a cruel little game.”

  I shrugged—content to wait. But Nick had clearly had enough of waiting. And he clearly had not had enough of me.

  “Please,” he said again, softer this time.

  His eyes locked onto mine, burning with intensity. An intensity that simmered over as I stroked my hands lightly down my naked skin.

  “This?” I asked innocently. “This is what you want?”

  His teeth sank into his lip again. I was surprised they didn’t bite through.

  “Yes...that’s what I want.”

  My eyes glowed with triumph, but I kept it off my face. Instead, I held my hand to my ear with a frown, and he finally threw back his head with a burst of sparkling laughter.

  “PLEASE—damnit! I said PLEASE!”

  I nodded sagely.

  “And let that be a lesson to you.”

  Before he could reply, or more likely—strangle me with his bare hands—I grabbed him once more. Moving even faster this time. Sucking even harder.

  ...rewarding the please.

  The two of us were already so riled up, it only took another minute for him to be ready.

  “Abby,” he gasped, “get up here.”

  Instead of doing as he wished, I moved even faster—feeling each one of the muscles in his stomach go simultaneously taut. His eyes snapped shut with a breathless moan.

  “I’m serious—please. I want...I want to do this with you.”

  It was perhaps the only thing he could have said to get me to stop.

  The second I pulled away, he leapt on top of me—pinning me back down to the mat, as he hiked my legs up around his waist. If it wasn’t for the little grin twisting at the corners of my mouth, he would have had me right then and there.

  “What is it?” he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

  I just shook my head with that same mischievous smile. “I have this terrible feeling that little lesson is going to come back to bite me.”

  He chuckled darkly.

  “Oh—I can assure you it will. Quite literally. In fact,” he lowered his lips to the curve of my shoulder, “I see no reason to wait. Let’s see if I can’t make you beg a little...”

  I sucked in a breath. My skin flushed with anticipation.

  Then a neon blue flash lit up the room.

  What the fuck?!

  I jerked back with a gasp, as his body automatically shifted to cover mine. The two of us whipped around, eyes wide with shock, but by that time—the door was already swinging shut. A clattering of quick footsteps echoed down the hall, before vanishing entirely into the night.

  There was a split second of silence, then Nick bowed his head with a sigh.

  “I’m sorry.” He glanced up cautiously, tryin
g to gauge my expression, “that...that happens sometimes.”

  It happened sometimes?! That’s all he had to say?!

  His heartbeat had already returned to normal. I swear—I thought he might have actually kept going, if I hadn’t curled my knees into my chest in blind horror, wrapping my arms around my chest in a belated attempt to protect something already racing down the hall.

  “Nick, we’ve...we’ve got to do something!” My voice rose in panic, shaking more and more with every word. “We can’t just let him publish those!”

  Nick flashed me a look of pity, before shaking his head.

  “He’s already gone. There’s nothing we can do.”

  I wasn’t accepting that. I couldn’t accept that.

  “There has to be something!” I cried, leaping to my feet. My dress was most definitely ruined beyond repair, so I settled for my black lingerie and the jacket of his suit. “Nick, we can’t just let him—”

  His hands closed upon my shoulders, drawing me soothingly into his chest. I hadn’t even heard him get up behind me, but I took no comfort in the words he said now.

  “Honestly, Abby—there are worse pictures of me out there.”

  There was a pause. Then I turned slowly around to face him.

  “Yes, but there aren’t worse pictures of me.”

  His eyes lightened in sudden understanding, and he turned his head to gaze at the door.

  In hindsight, I think it honestly hadn’t occurred to him. When you live so long one way, sometimes you forget that there’s another. That not everyone has already been as violated and exploited as you. That some people still remember what it means to have privacy.

  A look of sudden determination flashed across his face, and the next second, he took off running. I stared after him in shock, whiplashed at how fast the night had taken a turn, before crying out the only thing that came into my mind.

  “Nick—you’re naked!”

  I should have known that wouldn’t be enough to stop him.

  “It’s cold,” I added as an afterthought.

  There was a hitch in his stride, and the next second, he lifted up his hand. I tossed him a pair of boxer-briefs, and he slid into them on the spot. He flashed me a roguish grin, and the next second, he threw open the same door the man had vanished through a moment before.