Ample Delights (22 page)

“It’s not your fault, Nick.” Terrah leant back into the soft leather seat and watched the lights of the city whiz by. “It comes with the territory. I couldn’t believe they knew about Jocelyn already.”

“Me either. I hope that little fiasco didn’t ruin our evening.”

“No way.” She shifted her body closer to him as she met his eyes. “Tonight was incredible. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I love romancing you.”

Her heart skipped a beat as his last sentence sank in. For a split second, she’d thought he was going to tell her he loved
her.
She pushed back her feelings of disappointment.

“I’ve got two more weeks here in New York before my next shoot in Alaska.”

“Alaska?”

Nick laughed. “I know. This will be my first time going. It should be interesting…and cold. Want to come with?”

“No way. I couldn’t, even if I wanted to.”

“Well, before I freeze my ass, I’m free for the next two weeks. And I’m looking forward to it.”

“And it’s such a nice ass, too.” Terrah returned his smile as he traced a circle across her knee. “That’s terrific. You deserve the break.” She glanced out of the window again as the limo began to slow down, cruising through New York’s Upper East Side.

“Here we are,” Nick said as the limo came to a complete stop.

“Here we are?” She looked at him incredulously before peering out of her window at the beautiful apartment building they had pulled up outside. “We aren’t going to a party, are we?”

She didn’t want to ruin whatever plans Nick had for them, but the last thing she wanted to do was socialise with a lot of people.

“It’s a surprise.”

Nick winked at her. She waited for him to join her, then took his arm as he led her under the green awning towards the doorman already opening the door for them.

“Nick, please tell me we aren’t going to a party.”

“We aren’t going to a party.”

They crossed the lobby to get to the elevator and Terrah breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness.”

Terrah could see their reflections in the gleaming steel of the elevator doors in front of them.

“I wouldn’t dream of sharing you with anyone else tonight.” Nick glanced at her. “I’m guessing you’re feeling the same way?”

Terrah smiled and absently rubbed her temples. “Yes, I am.”

“What’s wrong?” Nick asked, observing her movements. “Your mood seems to have shifted since we left the restaurant.”

“I’ve got a little headache coming—it’s nothing.”

Terrah slipped her hand into his. Her mood
had
changed. Maybe the reporters had got to her more than she wanted to admit to Nick, or herself. She felt on edge…tired…crampy.

Great.

PMS… You are PMS-ing.

The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside.

“Well, it’s a good thing we left when we did.”

Terrah agreed, observing Nick pushing the penthouse suite button. “Care to tell me why we’re going up to the penthouse suite?”

“Not yet.”

His sexy grin made her feel a little better. The elevator doors opened, they exited the lift and Terrah gave him a questioning look. She followed him forward and wondered what he was up to. There were only two doors in the entire hallway and he led them to the second one. Terrah smiled when he lifted her wrist to his lips and pressed a kiss onto her skin.

“Tonight, we are going to eat our dessert alone.”

His devilish smile made her chuckle. He extracted a set of keys out of his dinner jacket pocket and her eyes widened when he slipped the key into the lock. He winked at her before opening the door and flipping on the light switch.

“Oh, wow,” Terrah gasped. She stepped past Nick into the gorgeous, fully furnished suite, which was elegantly decorated with modern furniture and colours.

“Do you like it?”

“Like it?” She tore her gaze away from the amazing, panoramic view of the city to find Nick watching her. “I
love
it.”

“Good. It’s mine.”

Her mild headache temporarily forgotten, Terrah’s mouth fell open as Nick started to laugh.

“Are you kidding me?” She gestured around the luxurious space. “You
bought
a penthouse suite on the Upper East Side?”

“I’ve been considering buying property in New York for a while. Now seemed like a good time to buy.”

Terrah wondered why, but held off asking the question as she slipped out of her heels and padded across the plush carpet to stand in front of the fireplace. “Well, you’ve made a sound investment in this place. It’s absolutely gorgeous. Show me everything.”

She followed Nick through the spacious suite as he showed her each room. There were two bathrooms and two bedrooms, along with a living room and dining room, all fully furnished.

“This place is huge, and the interior decorator hit all the right notes in each room,” Terrah said as they walked into the kitchen. She admired the dark wood cabinetry with glass windows that allowed her to see the fine dining ware in place, just waiting for use.

“I know. The moment I saw this space I could see myself living here.”

“Congratulations, Nick.” Terrah walked back towards him as she ran her hand along the kitchen island’s marble countertop. “I’m so happy for you.”

She placed her arms around his waist, loving the feel of his strong arms wrapping around her as he pulled her close.

“Thanks. This place is great, but do you want to know what makes me really happy?”

“What?” Terrah whispered, her body warming instantly at the look in his eyes.

“You…
us
, together like this.” He kissed her forehead as he hugged her.

“I feel the same way.”

She melted in his warm embrace and groaned when he moved away.

“Why don’t you make yourself comfortable on the couch and I’ll bring over our desserts? Do you have something to take for your headache?”

“In my purse,” Terrah said, moving through the open kitchen to the living room. “You wouldn’t happen to have any chocolate ice cream here, would you?” She giggled when Nick came around the corner and looked at her with an amused grin.

“You want chocolate ice cream, crème brûlée
and
devil’s food cake?”

Terrah shrugged. “I’m PMS-ing.”

“PMS…” Nick lifted his head. “Oh, I gotcha. Well, I don’t have any chocolate ice cream here, but I’ll get some.”

“No, it’s no big deal.”

Nick held up his hand. “Hey, if my babe wants chocolate ice cream, I’m going to get rocky road, double fudge
brownie
ice cream.” He chuckled as Terrah laughed. “There’s a minimart right down the street.”

He disappeared back into the kitchen, only to return with bottled water tucked under his arm and two plates with their desserts on top. Nick set the plates on the coffee table before handing her the bottled water.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

She took the water, grabbed her purse and took out her small vial of aspirin. “Seriously, I don’t want the ice cream as much as I just want you to join me here”—she tapped the supple leather beside her—“on this couch.”

“Are you sure?”

Terrah nodded, swallowing the pills as Nick took a napkin-wrapped fork and spoon from his back pocket and sat down. “Very.”

She watched him dip the spoon through the glossy top of the crème brûlée. Terrah smiled, parting her lips for a taste as he brought the flatware to her mouth. “Mmm…it’s even better than it looks.”

“Wait…” Nick took the fork and sliced into the chocolate cake. “You have to taste this next, so you can tell me which one you truly love the best.”

Terrah took the offered bite, savouring the chocolate on her tongue as she closed her eyes, lost in pure choco-bliss. She opened her eyes when she heard Nick laughing.

“I guess I’ve got my answer.”

He handed her the plate with the chocolate cake and picked up the other dessert.

“It’s sinfully good. Are you sure you don’t want some? I’d be willing to give you another bite.”

“Enjoy it.” Nick grinned. “I’m getting more pleasure out of watching you lick chocolate off that fork.”

Terrah sighed with delight and then smiled, savouring another taste of the cake. “Any other time, I’d have chosen the crème brûlée.”

“Sure.”

“I’m serious, but tonight… I’m afraid this baby is
all
mine.”

Nick waved his spoon in her direction. “Funny, I was just thinking the same thing.”

“You were? Well, here then,” Terrah leaned over to offer him a bite, which Nick refused. The intensity of his stare sent a jolt of pure awareness through her that had nothing to do with the chocolate on her tongue.

“Not about the
cake
, silly…about you. I want you to stay here with me while I’m in New York.”

His proposal both surprised and disappointed Terrah. She finished the last bite of the cake and placed her plate on the coffee table. It was the second time she’d thought he’d been about to declare his undying love.

Get a grip, girl.

“Terrah?”

She focused on his face, pushing her thoughts as far away as she could, and smiled. “Not necessary. I don’t live that far from here.”

“I don’t care.” Nick set his plate on the coffee table. “I don’t want to waste a moment while I’m here in the city without you.” He reached for her, pulling her back against his body as he wrapped his arms around her.

His tender declaration filled her with happiness. She’d intended on telling him how she felt earlier, but the more time she spent in his arms, the more she realised she wanted it all with Nick…the whole ‘I love you’ enchilada.

“So what do you say?” Nick placed a soft kiss against her temple. “We’ll get to fall asleep and wake up together.”

“Mmm…that sounds…”
Like something I could get used to.
“Wonderful.”

“So say yes.”

“Yes.”

There was no other answer she could give him. She wanted to spend as much time as they could together, too. Apparently, she was a masochist for heartache.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Nick asked as he reached for the remote.

“Something with some action.”

She settled back into the hard, warm line of his body and rested her head on his chest.

Nick flashed a quick grin as he turned on the flat-screen television. “What? No romantic comedy? It’s not my favourite genre, but I’d be willing to watch one with you.”

“No way—you gave up your portion of the cake. Pick a flick with lots of stuff getting blown up.”

Nick laughed. “Okay…you asked for it.”

Yeah, I sure did.

She’d asked for it the moment she’d let herself entertain the possibility of anything more substantial with Nick, and now she’d fallen hard for him…past the point of no return. It was obvious to her that he cared about her and wanted her in his life, but he hadn’t fallen in love with her. Only she had made the mistake of letting her feelings go so far.

Terrah blinked at the huge screen, then gave Nick the thumbs-up sign when he selected a Jason Statham film.

Why couldn’t she just be content with the way things were between them right now? Everything was going great and, yet, she couldn’t stop hoping for more.

Come on, Terrah, don’t be needy.

What she
needed
was to know whether Nick saw any real longevity in their relationship, going into the future.

What she needed was a contingency plan for her heart.

And what good would that do you at this point?

None.

Nick wanted all of her for the upcoming weeks, and she would be his. She would forget about everything else and simply enjoy being with him, loving him even if he didn’t love her back.

“Comfortable?” Nick asked as he shifted his body on the couch, so they could both put their feet up.

“Very.”

Terrah took in a deep breath and inhaled the familiar scent of Nick’s cologne. The screen lit up and her favourite action star took off running as something exploded in the background. She focused on the movie, needing a distraction from her chaotic thoughts.

Why had she allowed herself to fall in love with Nick?

Chapter Twenty-One

The sound of a dresser drawer closing woke Terrah up the next morning. She shifted beneath the warm sheets with a lazy stretch as Nick cursed.

“Is it morning already?”

“I’m sorry I woke you. I tried my best to close that damn drawer quietly.”

Terrah opened her eyes to see Nick pulling off his sweaty T-shirt.

“It’s okay. I need to get up anyway. What time is it?” She tried not to stare at his glistening abs as he kicked off his gym shoes.

“A little after nine. I wanted to get my workout in early. Did you sleep well?”

“Mm-hmm… I almost forgot I wasn’t in my own bed.”

Nick cast a glance at her. “That’s a good thing. I like the way you look in mine.”

Terrah ignored the somersaulting butterflies in her stomach as she grinned. “And I like waking up to the sight of you half-naked and sweaty.”

“Yeah?” Nick asked, coming closer to the bed. “Would you like to join me in the shower?”

She smiled as he stroked the side of her cheek with his thumb. “Would you mind if I lay here a little bit longer instead?”

“Nope. You want me to turn on the television?”

“Yes. I look forward to the weekends at home when I can actually lie in bed and catch up on all my recorded shows.”

The sound of a coffee commercial filled the bedroom after Nick had turned on the television. “Here you go.” He handed her the remote and pointed to the screen. “I’ll be out in five and then we can go get some of that.”

“Coffee, yes!” Terrah lifted her face as he leant down to kiss her lips. “Take your time. I might change my mind and join you after all.” She winked at him as she absently flipped through the television channels.

“Make my morning, babe—”

They both froze as a picture of the two of them, after dinner the night before, flashed on the screen.

“Was that…?” Terrah asked, blinking at the screen.

“Go back.”