Chapter Thirty-Three

WHEN ACACIA AWOKE, the sun was in the sky, and Nicholas was gone.

Her stomach rolled. Their connection had deepened. She’d felt it, and she knew he’d felt it too. But perhaps he wasn’t willing or able to deal with it.

She took a few minutes to tell herself she’d be all right—that she could be brave and survive the trip back to Geneva. That she could pretend his tenderness and vulnerability hadn’t opened something in her that had always remained closed.

Even now she missed him, though she knew she shouldn’t. They’d barely begun and it was over.

She tidied herself and spent a few minutes packing so she would be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. She noticed with irritation that her breakfast tray hadn’t been delivered.

When she opened the door and stepped out on the deck, she saw Nicholas sitting at a bistro table near the Jacuzzi. He was dressed in a button down shirt and suit pants and was typing on his laptop.

As soon as he spied her, his expression brightened and he walked over. Before she could speak, he wrapped his arm around her lower back and pulled her close, kissing her firmly on the mouth. “Just in time for brunch.”

Acacia eyed Rick, who stood nearby, his eyes hidden by dark sunglasses.

“Can I speak to you inside for a minute?” She extricated herself from Nicholas’s hold.

“We can talk over brunch.”

Acacia lowered her voice. “I need to speak to you privately.”

With a frown, Nicholas opened the door to her room and indicated she should go inside.

After he’d closed the door, she confronted him. “Please don’t touch me in front of the other staff.”

He lifted his eyebrows. “Other staff?”

“Yes, now Rick knows.”

Nicholas shrugged. “Rick’s job is to protect us. He doesn’t care about anything else.”

“Everyone will know I slept with you.”

“Is that a problem?” His expression darkened.

“Of course it is.” She huffed in frustration. “You’re my employer.”

“No, I’m not.” His tone grew chilly. “You resigned as of yesterday.”

She gestured to the door. “Rick doesn’t know that.”

“I’ll speak to him.” He reached for her hand, but she moved out of reach.

“What time are we leaving for Geneva?”

He frowned. “Why?”

She gritted her teeth. “Because I need to book my flight back to Paris.”

Nicholas stilled. “You’re going to Paris?”

“Of course.”

He folded his arms. “So you’ve decided.”

“I…” She hesitated, confused by his sudden hostility. “Decided what?”

Nicholas gestured to the bed, his face thunderous. “What do you think happened here last night? This morning?”

“Don’t bark at me!”

He came a step closer. “So that’s it? You’re just going back to Paris?”

“It’s where I live.” She swallowed hard as angry tears pricked at her eyes. “Kate says my apartment is almost ready.”

He brought his face within inches of hers. “Are you crying?”

“No.” She blinked hard. “I’m fighting the urge to sweep your leg and punch you in the throat.”

Nicholas stared at her. Then he burst out laughing.

She glared. “This isn’t funny.”

He grew solemn immediately. “No, it isn’t funny. I’m sorry I barked at you.”

He tried to put his arms around her, but she resisted.

“This is not how I wanted this conversation to proceed.” His hand went to his hair self-consciously. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“I’m not crying,” she protested.

“I’m sorry.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb. He inched forward, and she permitted him to wrap his arms around her.

Nicholas held her to his chest and rested his chin on top of her head. The strength of his hold and the tenseness of his muscles reminded her of how he’d hugged her earlier, when they were still in bed. When her world tilted on its axis.

This was not the touch of a man who’d made a sexual conquest, nor was it the touch of an amiable friend who’d shared his body casually. Nicholas touched her as if she were precious, as if he could hardly bear for her to be physically removed from him.

She exhaled her annoyance against his chest and kept her arms at her sides.

He kissed her hair. “Let’s start again, shall we?

“Good morning, goddess. I’ve been sitting outside your door, like an eager boy, waiting for you.”

“Why?” Her voice was muffled against his shirt.

“Ma chérie,” he whispered. “Do you really have to ask that question?”

When she didn’t respond, he pulled back. “Look into my eyes. Tell me if my feelings aren’t returned.”

Acacia searched his expression. In his eyes she read intense, hopeful longing. His brow was creased in worry, as if he were concerned about what she might say.

She exhaled and rested her cheek against his chest.

The tension in Nicholas’s body dissipated. He pressed his mouth to her temple.

“That’s better.” He brushed his lips against her forehead.

“I wasn’t prepared for this.”

“I’m not a man who waits for what he wants.”

“I’m not a woman who sleeps with her employer.”

He squeezed her gently. “I want you to stop saying that. That isn’t what happened.”

“I didn’t want to be presumptuous.”

“Presume, Acacia. You’ve earned that right.” Nicholas lowered his head to stare into her eyes. “Stay with me.”

“For how long?”

“For as long as it’s good.”

“When I was in my room a few minutes ago, I told myself I’d have to be strong today. I thought you’d changed your mind.”

“No.” He touched her face. “We’re allies. We’re friends. Be my lover, Acacia.”

“Is that what you want?”

“Yes. I want us to spend as much time together as possible, in bed and out of it. And I expect us to be monogamous.”

Something jolted down Acacia’s spine at his words. “You live in Zurich; I live in Paris.”

“Leave that to me.” Nicholas’s lips came to hers, firmly and insistently.

She sighed against his mouth.

“I want your answer,” he whispered.

Impulsively, she placed her hands about his waist. “My answer is yes.”

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, Nicholas. I’ll be yours for as long as it’s good.”

His arms tightened around her. “I’m sorely tempted to take you to bed.”

“We can’t delay our departure. I’m unemployed. I’m probably going to be deported.”

“We’ve already secured a temporary work permit for you. That will buy you some time. Madame Bishop can help you find new employment. We can ask her to expand her search to include positions in the art world. I have every confidence she can find something for you.”

Acacia shook her head. “I have to secure a position on my own merits. I’d welcome madame’s help, but not if it means you’d be behind the scenes, pulling strings.”

“If that’s what you want, I won’t interfere.”

“Thank you. I learned a long time ago that no one else can save me. I have to save myself.”

Nicholas gave her a pained look. “Wanting someone, needing someone, isn’t a vice.”

“I never said it was.”

He rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “I’d move heaven and earth to help her. She doesn’t want my help.”

She reached up and kissed his chin. “You can help me by getting me to Paris. I have to find another job.”

“All right.” He gave her a repentant look and reached down to kiss her deeply. “I have to stop. Otherwise I’ll be forced to show you how quick I can be.”

She laughed. “If I wasn’t worried about our flight, I’d take you up on that.”

“Soon,” he promised. “I’ll escort you to Paris, but we need to make a stopover.”

“Where?”

His mouth widened. “Dubai.”