As if that night had been nothing but a wonderful dream, the next couple of days passed with no sight of Nick. A well dropped, innocent question in Zara’s presence revealed he’d been called away on business and had caught an early flight out to England after he’d dropped me off in my room. My memories of the end of the night were blurry at best, but impressions lingered of being pressed up against his hard muscular chest, his arms cradling me and silvery blue eyes meeting mine with something more than simple affection. Even now, I could feel his lips pressing against mine, firm and hot, with a hint of roughness from his stubble.

Pulling my fingers away from where they were pressed to my lips, I forced my attention back to my task at hand, namely restoring order to the destruction that was Alex’s bedroom. It looked like I wasn’t the only one missing Nick. Alex had grown more and more fidgety as the days passed, his sweet, bubbly personality straining at the edges and taking on the distinctive whine of a toddler who was approaching a monumental tantrum. Luckily, I hadn’t been the only one to notice and Zara had whisked him away with a promise of a treat, leaving me to recover in peace.

Slouching down onto the floor, I dug my phone out of my pocket and checked it for the umpteenth time. Still no news from the agency. The email from Tony taunted me, but I refused to give in. I knew the second I opened it, he’d know, and then it would be an avalanche. And I wasn’t in the mood for his kind of bullshit today.

Yeah, I was feeling grumpy. I scooped up a toy train and placed it in the box beside me, then set on dismantling the corresponding track. I was well within my rights to be pissed off, I reckoned. I’d been wined and dined, then … nothing. Wait. What? Did I actually want something to happen? Snapping the wooden pieces apart, I threw them into the box, making a satisfying clunk. Damn straight I did. I was a grown woman who hadn’t seen any nookie action in months, and my itch had thoroughly been worked up to a frenzy by a certain barbarian king. Sorry, soldier. I snorted, picking the box up and tidying it away. Whatever he was, he was insanely attractive, easy to talk to, and had seemed open to the idea of bumping uglies. I paused, popping my hands on my hips in a deliberate Wonderwoman pose. Yep, that’s how worked up I was. In fact, he owed me. One big, fat, juicy orgasm. Or three. I tapped my chin. Maybe five would do.

Full of righteous indignation, I stormed out of the room and across the palace, making my way to his private suite of rooms. I would leave him a note, informing him of his horrific negligence and request that he do everything in his power to make it up to me. My mouth curved up in a satisfied smirk as I imagined the look on his face when he eventually read the note, then how he would stride into my room and devour me. Without bothering to knock, I flung open the door to his office and strode across the room.

“Tahlia?”

I almost fell over at the sound of his voice. The man himself was seated behind a large oak desk, his tie hanging loose and shirt open at the top. His hair was rumpled, as if he’d been dragging his hands through it back and forth, and stubble clung to his jaw. A suit jacket hung on the back of his chair, cufflinks clinging to his wrists. “You’re back!” I spluttered, my eyes devouring the sight of him sitting right in front of me, taking in the signs of exhaustion clinging to his eyes and straining his gorgeous mouth.

“Just now. I was going to come and see you—”

He broke off as I prowled around the desk. He pushed his chair back to reveal the pants to match his suit. Black. Businesslike. Very sexy. A thin leather belt looped around his waist, sitting snug and firm against his rock-hard abs, no overhang in sight, despite the fact that he was sitting down. I had a moment where my confidence wavered, before I shoved it away. It helped that his eyes had lightened to a hot silvery blue, tension gripping his jaw as his gaze roamed over my body. Yep, that was the face of a man who liked what he saw.

“You left without saying goodbye,” I whispered, closing the gap between us until my knees brushed his leg.

Shifting his legs apart, he kept his hands on the chair, tilting his head back to look at me as I took the final step, invading his personal space. “Did you miss me?” he asked in a voice that was low and gravelly.

I lifted a shoulder. “A bit.”

He didn’t like that answer, his mouth firming into a scowl. “What would it take for you to miss me a lot?” He leaned back in the chair, as if deliberately trying to draw my attention to the large, hard body spread out before me.

I was surprised there wasn’t actual sparks flying in the air, because every breath I managed to suck in tasted thick and heady with lust. Exquisite tension mounted inside me, that perfect combination of anticipation tempered by knowing. Anticipation could be cruel, unless you were sure of the outcome. “A woman can’t miss something she’s never had.” My fingers grazed his thigh and it was like flipping a switch. He lurched up and pressed me back against the desk, his mouth descending hot and hard against mine. Something akin to a growl vibrated through him as he pushed my thighs apart, pressing his body directly in contact with mine, grinding his thick, hard length exactly where I wanted him. Large hands skimmed my hips, fingers digging into my ass as he dragged me closer, his kiss deepening in a clash of tongue and teeth.

I grabbed his hair, then yanked at his shirt, popping buttons until I could slide my hands across firm, hard skin. Then his shirt was gone, along with my top, and I was pushed back onto the desk, his mouth closing around my nipple as his hand made quick work of the button on my shorts, slipping inside to slide across my wet heat.

“Nick!” My back arched as he pushed a finger inside me, his teeth biting down around my nipple and sucking it deep. I grabbed at his shoulders, hips jerking as he pumped into me, his thumb sliding around to find that special bundle of nerves. He moved to my other breast, leaving a trail of kisses across my skin, his eyes flicking up to meet mine. I couldn’t drag my gaze away, even as my body bucked and writhed beneath him, as he pinned me to the table and guided me relentlessly toward that peak. I let out a groan, biting down on my bottom lip and he shuddered. Then he was gone, sliding away from me. A yank, and my shorts were gone, panties too, then his hands spread my thighs even wider, his shoulders pushing into my ass and lifting me up. I glanced down just in time to watch him inhale, his mouth curved in what only could be described as hungry, then he attacked, his tongue splitting me without warning, his teeth nipping and mouth sucking. A rough, almost feral noise erupted from him, rippling and vibrating through me and I screamed, his hands clamped on my thighs holding me against his mouth. His gorgeous, talented, mouth which continued to worship me until the last shudder of my orgasm faded and I collapsed. Sweat slicked my bangs to my brow, my whole body tingling with aftershocks as he stroked his hands in a smooth glide up my stomach, following with his body, until we were chest to chest. Between my legs I could feel the unmistakable outline of his excitement pressing up against me as he cradled my head and kissed me long and slow. He covered me completely, his huge size even more apparent up close and personal, but he was gentle. Too gentle.

“Nick?”

He pushed away, a satisfied smirk on his lips. Popping up onto my elbows, I ignored the fact that I was naked but for my bra and ogled him without shame. His slacks hung low on his hips, the dark fabric clinging to and highlighting the outline of his cock. His very hard cock. Perfect abs rippled as he sucked in a deep breath, symmetrical lines cutting the edges of his stomach and spearing beneath his waistband. “Think you’ll miss me now?”

My mouth dropped open when he shoved his hands into his pockets, adjusting himself with all the discreetness of a man who knew he had nothing to hide and everything to be proud of. Then he picked up my shorts, sliding them up my legs. Pressing a kiss to my knee, he smoothed my skin before tucking a hand under my ass and lifting me. Before I knew it, I was fully covered, just about. Only my top was still missing. What the hell? “Nick?” I tried again, adding a scowl this time and sitting up completely. My legs swung off the edge of his desk, so I folded them, trying to ignore the liquid throbbing in my core. It was as if now I’d had a taste, my hormones were high and living it large, refusing to simmer down and realize the party was over.

“This,”—he pointed at me, then himself, “—isn’t about a quick fuck.”

I shivered at his words, the way they rolled off his tongue. Aggressive and confident, they whispered that he would have absolutely no problem screwing me until I was a gibbering wreck and moaning his name.

Getting myself back under control, I asked the obvious. “Then what is it?”

He leaned in, putting us nose to nose. His next word was a soft growl on the air, “Forever.”

I’d almost leaned in, closing the gap, when his answer sank in. I jerked away. “What? We barely know each other.”

“Sometimes you don’t need months or years, sometimes you just know when you’ve met your soulmate.” That’s what he offered me as an explanation.

I huffed, covering my unease. Or rather, the strange lack of it. Something in his words called to a part of me that I refused to even acknowledge. “What, you want to wait until marriage?”

“You came here tonight wanting this.” He pushed my thighs apart and jerked me against him, grinding his hard length against me until I gasped, liquid flooding me. “But I will wait until you want this—” He took my hand and pressed it against his chest, splaying my fingers and covering them with his own, “—more.” His heart thumped steady beneath my palm as he continued to stare at me. When I didn’t speak, and not for lack of trying—words were crowding my tongue, but refusing to make any kind of sense—the corner of his mouth twitched, a muscle jumping in his jaw.

But I could see it in his eyes, how much it had cost him to put this out there, to say these wild and crazy things to me. “I like you, Nick—”

He winced, rolling his eyes. “Then let me try and win your heart. Give me a chance.”

“And you’ll use this to help you win it?” I bumped my hips forward, nudging his impressive bulge. I was trying for lighthearted and it kind of worked. His mouth moved in the right direction.

“No.”

I pouted, feeling very much like the child who’d had candy dangled in front of her nose, then snatched away again. “Why not?”

“Because I wouldn’t be able to stop.”

I didn’t see anything wrong with that, but from the look on his face, I should be worried. “And that’s a bad thing because…?” I asked, dragging my words out.

“Because then it’ll be forever.” With that confusing statement, he winked, his hand snaking up into my hair and tugging my head back. His lips grazed my ear, his next words a deep growl, “But you can have as many orgasms as you like, especially if it will help … convince you.”

His hand cupped my breast, his thumb grazing my nipple as he rocked into me, a delicious friction building between my legs. “Oh!”

He paused, pinching my nipple tight. “I think I’m going to enjoy convincing you. Should I carry on?”

He seemed to be waiting for something. What was it? Oh, right. “Yes…” My next words morphed into a groan as he picked me up and carried me across to the couch, settling between my legs with a look so intense, I almost fanned myself, “Yes, please.”

My shorts bit the dust, again.