Stealing the Billionaire's Heart (6 page)

“But…” she stammered. “It’s yours.
I brought it all the way here to give it to you. I broke into your house so
that you could have it. It was for your sister.”

He waved off her protests. “The
sight of this necklace will forever remind me of the acts committed while you
wore nothing but said piece of jewelry. I do not wish to think upon such deeds
every time I see my sister wearing it.”

“Oh,” she said, understanding where
he was going with that. It really wouldn’t do to give your sister a gift that
you saw another woman wear while having sex. There was something completely
wrong about that.

He finally got it fastened securely
around her neck. With a little sound of triumph, he spun her back around to
face him. “Besides, I think it will look much nicer on you. I want you to have
it.”

“Nick…I…” She fingered the locket,
fingernails covered in orange polish grazing the gold chain. “It’s too… I
couldn’t possibly…”

“No arguing. It’s yours.” He put
his hands on his hips, staring down at her. “Now… I’ve only got so much time.
Instead of thinking up some lame excuse as to why you can’t keep the necklace,
why don’t you get ready and meet me downstairs?” He turned on his heels,
preparing to leave her in privacy, when her voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Nick…” she said softly.

He spun back around to look at her.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her
voice the most sincere thing he’d ever heard in his life.

“No,” he replied in almost a
whisper. “Thank you.” Turning back to the doorway, he left, a happy smile
plastered on his face that he couldn’t seem to get rid of no matter how hard he
tried.

Chapter Four

Nixie entered the kitchen to find
Nick at the stove. He was wearing a royal blue, silk robe and matching
slippers. He busily transferred bacon to two plates that sat on the counter. “I
thought you rich types didn’t know how to cook,” Nixie teased.

Nick turned around to look at her
with a crooked grin. “Hey, now. Why are you taking a stab at my cooking skills
before you’ve even eaten?”

Nixie made her way over to him and
Nick watched her every move, eyeing her outfit closely. She was wearing one of
his button-down dress shirts. It was long enough to reach mid-thigh, keeping
her relatively covered, but the knowledge that she wore nothing underneath and
they both knew it had her slightly breathless.

Nixie gave him a brilliant smile
and leaned against the counter. “Well, your first mistake was making bacon with
your robe hanging open.” She ran her fingers along his chest, slipping them
underneath the gaping fabric. “You’re lucky you didn’t sizzle your chest off.”

“I figured it was worth it to get
you to feel all over me for injuries.”

She pushed away from him with a
laugh. “Just feed me already.” She walked over to the giant kitchen table and
slumped into one of the chairs with a yawn.

Less than a minute later, he was setting
a plate full of food in front of her.

Without a word, she started eating,
feeling quite relieved to have an excuse not to talk. She was at a total loss
of what to say to him. Last night, not to mention this morning, had been
amazing, but it wasn’t exactly breakfast table conversation material.
Thanks for the mind-numbing sex. I’ve never
been fucked that well in my life.
Yeah. Not exactly appropriate at the
moment. So instead of speaking, when he sat a tall glass of juice in front of
her, she brought it to her lips and took a large gulp.

Nick slid into the chair across
from her and watched in silence as she scarfed down her breakfast. Leaning back
in his chair, he picked at a piece of bacon. “Hungry?” he asked in amusement.

“Famished,” she said around her
drink.

Nick’s eyes crinkled in laughter as
he watched her. Shaking his head, he chewed on his strip of bacon. “I’ve
arranged for a cab to pick you up shortly,” he said conversationally. “It’s
already been paid for, so don’t worry about the fee.” Thoughtfully, he added,
“Hopefully your clothes will be done before it gets here.”

“Eh,” Nixie said, waving his
comment off. “I enjoy giving cabbies cheap thrills.”

Nick coughed around his juice. He
pounded his fist against his chest, trying to clear his windpipe. “I…I, uh,
see.” It took him a moment to recognize the teasing expression on her face.
Quickly recovering, he added, “Well, I must object. I think you’ve given enough
cheap thrills for one day.”

Nixie raised her eyebrows at him,
pretending to be offended.

“Besides,” Nick continued,
completely ignoring the expression, “you know what an overprivileged, spoiled
rich boy I am. I don’t like sharing and I refuse to.”

Her lip quirked. “What are you
going to do, lock me away so no one else can have me?”

“If I must,” Nick said in mock
seriousness. “If it wasn’t for this damn meeting, I’d already have you locked
up in my highest tower where I would repeatedly take liberties at my slightest
whim.”

Nixie laughed in delight as she bit
into a piece of sausage. “You live in a castle now, do you?” She swallowed
before adding. “You well-to-do people and your showboating.” Taking another
nibble, she added, “Speaking of your meeting…I would like to bring up a very
important issue. My mother would kill me if I didn’t.”

* * *

Nick stared at her in surprise, a
link of sausage frozen halfway to his mouth. She wanted to discuss his work?
Work had always been a taboo area with Sarah. Nothing had put her to sleep
quicker than a topic that hadn’t involved her. “Go ahead,” he encouraged.

“You need to stop killing
dolphins,” Nixie said very seriously. “Every time we see one of those oil spill
stories on the news, my mother practically has a stroke. Sure, we need oil, but
we need dolphins, too.”

Nick stared at her for a moment, trying
to decide if she was screwing with him or if she was in fact serious. After a
full minute of her looking at him very earnestly, he burst out laughing.

Nixie’s mouth curved into the
prettiest frown he’d ever seen in his life.

Not wanting her to get too upset
with him, Nick gave her an apologetic look, trying to stop his laughter. When
he finally managed to get it under control, he said, “Nix, darling, we are in
central
Texas
,
not on the coast. I promise you, I’ve never killed any dolphins.”

Nick climbed to his feet and took
their empty plates to the sink. On his return to the table, he noticed her
cheeks were lit with an adorable blush. Stopping in front of her chair, he
leaned down and kissed each one of them in turn before putting his mouth inches
from hers. “Though I find it very noble of you to stand up for the dolphins.”

“Someone has to,” she whispered,
her breath hot against his lips.

Before she could say anything else,
Nick crushed his mouth against her. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled
her to her feet, never breaking contact. “Something…about you…just…drives me
crazy.” He spoke between kisses. “You…are just…so…honest…and good.”

“You’re good, too,” she mumbled
into his mouth. “Very, very good.”

Nick gripped her hips, lifted her
onto the kitchen table, and stepped in between her legs. He growled in pleasure
as her hands, which had somehow gotten inside his robe, traveled up his back,
gripping at his shoulder blades. He pressed his body fully against hers,
contemplating lowering her to the table and making love to her right there.

“Nicholas!” a voice cried in
admonition. “Not at the table.”

Nick slid slowly away from Nixie
and let his gaze move to his housekeeper Hula. “As you wish,” he said lazily
and backed away from Nixie.

Nixie squeaked and hopped off the
table, hiding behind him. She gripped at the sleeve of his robe with both of
her hands, and he could sense that she was completely mortified at being caught
making out on a kitchen table.

“There is a cab outside,” Hula
continued in a slight Mexican accent. “I’d assume it is for your lady friend.”

Nick nodded. “Yes.” His eyes
shifted to Hula’s hands. “You have her clothes?”

Hula held them out silently, a
reproachful look on her face.

Nick took them and wasn’t surprised
when they were snatched out of his hands by Nixie. He gave Hula a brief nod.
“Thank you for informing us about the cab.” He gave her a pointed look,
silently telling her to leave.

Fumbling around behind him, Nixie
stumbled into her skirt. She tripped and banged her hip against the table,
effectively spilling his glass of juice.

Hula watched in agitation as the
orange liquid trailed a path along the wooden surface and began trickling off
the edge to the floor. “Wonderful,” she grumbled, but swept out of the room,
leaving them in peace.

“Shit,” Nixie hissed. “Shit, shit,
shit.”

Nick grabbed her arm to steady her
when she almost toppled over her chair. “It is just juice. I will have Hula
attend to it in a moment.”

“Well, that’s not fair,” she argued.
“I was the one to spill it, and…”

Nick silenced her with a kiss.
“Darling, my meeting is quickly approaching and I have yet to get dressed.
Leave the juice.”

Nixie nodded. “Okay.” She gave it
one last weary look before looking down at the shirt of Nick’s that she was
wearing. She glanced warily at the kitchen door then at the shirt she’d worn
the previous night.

Nick straightened the collar of the
dress shirt she was wearing. “Just wear this home.” He planted her with another
quick kiss. “You can return it later.” Spinning her around, he practically
shoved her out the front door.

Nixie stumbled on the porch,
struggling into her shoes as she exited the front door. She got halfway down
the steps before hollering up to him. “Call me, okay?”

Nick crossed his arms over his
chest, his mouth curving into a grin. “I don’t think that’s possible.”

Nixie staggered and nearly fell the
rest of the way down the stairs. “What? Why?” Her gray eyes had widened in
horror.

Nick’s grin broadened. “Because you
didn’t leave me your number.” His words were a gentle reminder.

“Oh…oh!” Spinning on her heels,
Nixie rushed back up the steps.

As soon as she got to him, Nick
pulled her into his chest and kissed her greedily. “I miss you already,” he
teased.

Nixie moaned and opened her mouth
to him, letting his tongue dance along hers. After a moment of pure pleasure,
she whispered, “Do you have a pen?”

Nick had nearly forgotten the
reason for her return. “Yeah,” he said, pulling regretfully away. He reentered
the kitchen and grabbed a ballpoint from the counter. Once back outside, he
handed it over to her.

Nixie grinned up at him. “Paper?”

“Shit,” Nick grumbled, running a
hand through his hair. “I didn’t think of that.”

He spun to leave, but Nixie grabbed
his hand and straightened it out. Uncapping the pen with her teeth, she
scribbled her number on his palm before handing the pen back.

Nick smiled. “Now I can think of
you all meeting long.”

Nixie looked up at him through
thick, dark lashes. “Exactly.” Leaning up, she brushed her lips against his.

Nick grabbed the front of her shirt
and pulled her against him, trapping her against his body with his long arms.
He deepened the kiss, nibbling at her lower lip, his teeth grazing her skin.

A horn blared loudly and Nick
pulled back far enough to see the impatient gesture from the cab driver. “As if
he’s not getting paid,” he grumbled.

Nixie smiled against his lips.
“You’ve got to get to your meeting anyway.” She turned and went to run down the
steps when Nick spun her around and yanked her back to his chest.

He lowered his mouth hungrily to
hers for one last kiss. “I’ll call you the first opportunity I get,” he
promised before releasing her. Nick watched longingly as she rushed down the
steps and practically ran to the cab.

“Mr. Morgan,” Hula called out.

“In a minute,” he hollered back,
not taking his eyes away from Nixie as she slid into the backseat of the cab.

“Mr. Morgan!” Hula repeated more
firmly.

“Hold on!” he cried, staring
transfixed as the cab pulled away. He bit his lip to hide a smile as a small
wrist shot out the window and Nixie waved to him. He lifted his hand and waved
in return.

“Nicholas!” Hula practically
screamed.

He spun and marched into the house
with a huff of agitation. “What? What is so important?” He didn’t see her in
the kitchen so he strode into the living room. “What…” He trailed off in
disbelief as soon as he entered the room.

“You’ve been robbed, Mr. Morgan,”
Hula said sympathetically.

Nick stared around the room in
shock. Half of the items that normally littered the area were missing in
action. Many, many expensive things. “How could she?” he whispered,
heartbreakingly dumbfounded.