Nate shrugged. “What can I say? He liked my proposal and he felt we had nothing to lose by it. I worked my butt off on my own for the first few years and then, over time and as we continued to grow, we built up our staff.”
Nicole fought back the pang of envy that struck her fair and square in the chest. What would it be like, she wondered, to be able to just pitch an idea and then have a free hand in following it through? Suddenly it occurred to her that that was exactly what Nate had done for her here and now. He’d heard her out, he was now examining her report and making notations on a pad of paper on the desk in front of him, and he’d assembled a team to support her in it.
Her mind reeled with confusion. He was forcing her to stay here—blackmailing her. Why, then, was he basically handing her the chance to see her idea through—an idea that her father had rejected—without any question?
There was a knock at the office door and it opened. Raoul stood there, his tie loosened at his throat and his shirtsleeves rolled up as if he meant business.
“Dinner has been delivered. We’re setting up in the boardroom. You guys ready to join us?”
“We’ll be through in a minute,” Nate said. Once Raoul had gone, Nate stood and gathered up his notes and Nicole’s papers. “Are you all set?”
“Sure,” she said. “Just one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Why are you doing this?”
“This?” he asked, holding her report up in one hand.
“Yeah. Why? It could just as easily fail and cost you a whole lot of money.”
Nate shrugged, an eloquent movement of his broad shoulders beneath the fine wool of his suit. “I trust you, and I know you’re onto a winner here. I can see it already in the work you’ve done to date. Why waste it? Besides, I can’t wait to imagine the look on your father’s face when we win.”
“You think we will?”
“Don’t doubt yourself or our team, Nicole. We’re invincible when we put our minds to it.” Nate crossed the room and held the door open. “Shall we?”
She nodded decisively and picked up her handbag and laptop and followed him through to the boardroom. Invincible. It should scare her that he was so supremely confident, but for some reason it gave her strength, instead. Strength and a belief that she could do this.
Hard on the heels of that thought she realized how much she was enjoying working with Nate. Too much, in fact. As an employer, he was the antithesis of Charles Wilson. She didn’t have too much time to dwell on her thoughts, though, because once they entered the boardroom they were full-on. Nate invited her to explain her concept to the group in summarized format and then gave them his overview of her report. Over a selection of Chinese takeout they brainstormed ideas back and forth until Nicole barely recognized the idea as her own anymore. Even so, there was one thing she knew for certain. She was really excited about the direction this was taking and the fact that she’d been integral in instigating it.
By the time she and Nate went back to his apartment she was shattered, and yet incredibly buoyed up at the same time. They had a solid plan in place and she had all the ammunition she needed for when she went to win over any business that Judd and Anna might already have secured.
As she went to turn in for the night she paused in the hallway leading to the bedrooms.
“Nate?”
Nate was almost at his door and he stopped the instant she called to him. “Yeah?”
“Thank you for today.”
He walked back up the hallway toward her. She couldn’t read his expression in the dim lighting but as he drew nearer, she could see the half smile on his face.
“You’re thanking me?” he asked.
She nodded. “For believing in me.”
He shook his head slightly. “You’re worth it, Nicole. I don’t know why your father kept you under a bushel the way he did but, with your mind, the whole world should be at your feet. I’m just letting you use what is your own natural talent.”
“I—I appreciate it,” she answered, unused to receiving such direct praise. “I hate to admit this, but I really enjoyed this evening.”
“Hey, there will be many more of those,” Nate said.
“Well, like I said, thanks.”
She hovered outside her door, her mind still humming with all the excitement of seeing her brainchild grow and expand into a working business plan. A plan she’d be implementing the moment her feet touched Marlborough soil.
It only seemed natural to brush her lips against Nate’s cheeks and then, when that wasn’t enough, to kiss him on the lips. He remained still for a moment but then his arms were around her and his mouth was hungry against hers. Her heart rate accelerated as she accepted the inevitable. They were going to make love. A part of her was glad of it, glad she no longer had to fight her instinctive and constant response to Nate’s presence. But deep inside she knew she was, in part, surrendering to him. Giving a piece of herself that she’d held back. A piece she knew she’d be lucky to get back whole, ever again.
Seven
Nate backed Nicole against her bedroom door and relished the taste of her as they consumed one another with their kiss. He’d known it would only be a matter of time before Nicole capitulated to him again. With a passion as incendiary as theirs, it was bound to happen. Knowing that hadn’t made the waiting any easier, but having that advantage over her—making her stay with him—had tempered his desire just enough to take the edge off. Just enough so that he could wait patiently and let her come to him as he’d planned. And now, at last, everything was falling into place.
It had been exhilarating seeing her in action today. There was nothing sexier than a woman with confidence and intelligence, and Nicole had both in spades. That she was perfectly assembled with features that could make even an angel weep was a welcome bonus, in his mind.
But now it was most definitely time to stop thinking and start doing. Doing and feeling. He reached behind Nicole and eased her bedroom door open, walking her slowly inside before closing the door behind them. Cocooning them in darkness only vaguely punctuated by the lights across the harbor that were visible through her bedroom window. He continued to guide her backward into the darkened room. At the edge of the bed he stopped, reaching for the zipper at the back of her dress and easing it down carefully before working the fabric away from her delectable body. For a split second he wished he’d taken the time to turn on a light, so he could feast his eyes upon her as he planned to feast with his mouth very shortly. But compulsion overcame his need to see what he was doing to her, to see her reaction to it. Instead, he would rely on his other senses.
His body craved urgency, but he held on to enough reason to know that he wanted to take his time, to stretch this out for as long as humanly possible. To give and to receive over and over again until neither of them could stand another second of the torment.
Nicole made a little humming sound in the back of her throat as he bent his head and traced a fine line from the edge of her jaw and down the cord of her neck with his tongue. Her hands gripped his shoulders as he moved lower, following the very top of the swell of her breasts inside the expensive lingerie he knew she wore. Lingerie he had paid for. Lingerie he’d tortured himself with all this week by picturing—wondering whether she was wearing the sapphire-blue ensemble, or the ruby red. Or maybe it was one of the other myriad feminine provocations he’d seen delicately wrapped in tissue before being placed in the store’s shopping bag and handed over to her.
Here and now, in the darkness, he knew color didn’t matter. All that mattered was sensation and, oh, God, she felt amazing in his arms, beneath his lips. He reached behind her, unsnapping the clasps of her bra.
He dispensed with the garment in an easy movement and reached with both his hands to cup the fullness of her breast
s, testing their weight and lifting them slightly so he could bury his face in their softness before laving at the crease he’d created between them. He stroked the pads of his thumbs over her nipples, delighting in the straining peaks and the knowledge that his touch was making them harder, making her want him more.
Her hands let go their grip on his shoulders and moved to the collar of his shirt, unknotting his tie and sliding it free before her fingers were at his buttons, unsteady yet determined in their mission. He bit back a growl as her nails scraped across his chest, across his own sensitive nubs. Her hands shifted to the buckle of his belt and then, mercifully, eased down his zipper and pushed his trousers to pool at his feet. His erection strained at the restriction of his boxer briefs, strained for her silken touch, but instead, she scraped her nails softly along his length and he almost lost all control.
Nate eased her back onto the bed before bending to swiftly kick off his shoes and peel off his socks so he could step out of his trousers. He slid his briefs away, allowing his swollen flesh to spring free, and joined Nicole on the bed. Waves of heat rolled off her body, heat that intensified as his fingers roamed inside the fabric of her panties—sought, and found, the slick core of her. He played his fingers across her cleft, reveling in the heat and wetness of her body, knowing it was like this in readiness for him and him alone. She gasped when he brushed the tip of one finger across her clitoris, her gasp turning into a moan as he increased the pressure ever so slightly before easing it off again.
She pressed up into his hand, the movement making him smile. She’d been so controlled all week and now here she was. Her movements uninhibited. He gently slid her free of her underwear and then tugged it away from her body completely before settling himself between her legs. He felt her thighs tremble as he ran his palms across their silky smoothness. Tremble and then tighten as he lowered his mouth to her damp heat. He rolled his tongue across the bead of flesh hidden at her apex. Over and over until her body was so tense he knew she was seconds away from completion.
Completion he would give her. He closed his mouth around that special place and sucked hard, the action sending her over the edge.
Nate waited until the spasms that rocked her body eased off, then rose over her, reaching for the bedside cabinet where, as a good host, he knew there was a stock of condoms. He eased open the drawer and reached inside.
“They’re not there,” Nicole said from beneath him.
“They’re not? Then—”
“I cut them up and threw them out. I didn’t want to be tempted.”
He’d have laughed if he wasn’t so hard he was on the point of agony. Instead, he pressed a kiss to her lips.
“Don’t move,” he said, “I’ll be straight back.”
He covered the distance between their bedrooms in record time, then came back with a handful of condoms that he dumped into the still-open drawer, with the exception of the one that he ripped open and swiftly used to sheath himself.
“This time when you come,” he continued, as he reached for the beside lamp and switched it on, “I want to see you.”
She made a sound as if to protest but the noise cut off as he eased his length inside her. He gritted his teeth together, clenching his jaw tight as he fought to restrain the urge to take her hard and fast. To bring them both to a crashing climax within the shortest time possible. Instead, he moved slowly, painstakingly. She met his rhythm and he smiled down at her as she tried to hasten him in his movements.
“It’ll be better this way,” he said. “Trust me.”
He knew it had been worth the wait as he felt her inner muscles begin to quiver and tighten around him. Nicole’s eyes were glazed, her lips parted on a panting breath and her cheeks flushed. A fine dew of perspiration gathered at her temples. His own climax was only seconds away, and in the instant her body began to ripple around him he let go, letting her body wring his satisfaction from him. Giving himself over to the pulse that spent itself all the way from the soles of his feet.
Nicole lay beneath him, waiting for her heartbeat to return to normal, if such a thing were possible. It seemed that from the moment she’d laid eyes on Nate Jackson, she’d been in a constant state of hyperawareness. Colors were brighter, scents stronger and pleasure so much more intense than she’d ever known. She had no idea where this was all going to lead. She only knew, deep down inside, that she would probably never feel this much again with another man. The thought terrified her, because she knew this couldn’t last.
She’d never been enough for anyone before. That’s why she hadn’t been able to make her mother love her, or to make her father proud. And now she had Nate, who made her feel as if she could do anything…but she knew better than to rely on that. Because she wasn’t enough for him, either—not on her own. He was only with her now to enact revenge on her father—once that was complete, she’d go back to being not enough.
Nate shifted above her, pulling from her body before rolling away. Despite the sternly chiding voice in her head telling her not to get too comfortable or too attached, she still made a sound of protest as his warmth left her—right before she froze at his next words.
“Let me get rid of this, we don’t want another near miss like last weekend.”
Every last vestige of afterglow fled her body as her blood ran cold. “What do you mean ‘near miss?’”
“Didn’t I mention it? We went to sleep like this that first night. The condom came off. But you’re on the Pill, right?”
She wasn’t. But that wasn’t the issue. He should have told her straightaway so she could have gone to a pharmacy and gotten the morning-after pill. Being with Nate was bad enough but how on earth would she explain a baby to her father?
“Nicole? You are on the Pill, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m not,” she told him, a panicked flutter beginning in her chest. “Why didn’t you tell me? What if—”
“I’ll deal with it,” he said firmly.
He’d deal with it? What about her? Didn’t her thoughts or feelings on the matter count at all? And just how would he deal with it? Would he insist on a termination, or would he use a pregnancy as another tool to hurt her father? It occurred to Nicole that while Nate had given her all the freedom in the world when it came to the workplace, he gave none in her personal space whatsoever. When Nate came back into the bed she had already rolled onto her side and was feigning sleep. She had a lot on her mind—and she knew she wouldn’t be able to think if he was touching her.
By the time Wednesday morning rolled around Nicole had everything in the bag. Four out of the six wineries Judd and Anna had visited had jumped ship to Jackson Importers, due in part to the relationship she had already built with them during her feasibility study. And along with them she’d also picked up at least three additional contacts, who were excited about the prospect of widening their distribution.
Her days had been full-on. Judd had done a very good job of selling Wilson Wines to the contacts she’d had on her list, but she’d done a better one and it felt good to be on top. As she awaited her luggage at the baggage carousel at Auckland’s domestic airport, she allowed herself a smile of satisfaction.
“Well, if you don’t look like the cat that got the cream, hmm?”
Her pulse leaped in her veins as Nate’s voice surrounded her in its velvet softness. She turned and faced him, willing her heart rate back under control. Willing her body to calm and cool down just a notch so he wouldn’t know just how much she’d ached for him each night she’d been away.
“It went well,” she said smoothly. “I didn’t expect you to be here to pick me up. I could have taken a taxi.”
“I wanted to see you,” he said simply.
He bent and kissed her on the lips, a hard press of skin against skin and then he was gone again. She fought the urge to press her fingers to her lips,
to hold him there for just a moment longer. Nate constantly surprised her. On the one hand he could be so overbearing and yet, on the other…
“Oh, there’s my bag,” she cried, seeing the distinctive iridescent red case coming through on the carousel.
She’d been delighted with the set of luggage when Nate had had it delivered to the apartment before her departure, even if it was a little brighter than anything she’d owned before. Still, it was distinctive and cheerful.
Nate moved to collect her bag, appearing nonplussed about carrying such a feminine item as he placed one hand at the small of Nicole’s back and guided her out to the parking building.
“Are we heading straight into the office?” she asked as he directed the car up George Bolt Memorial Drive and toward the motorway interchange.
“No.”
“Oh, I thought—”
“I told them we wouldn’t be in until after midday.”
Nicole was surprised. She’d thought he would have wanted her to debrief the team and keep the ball rolling. Losing momentum with this could be disastrous, as Judd and Anna would shortly find out, to their cost.
Judd and Anna—that was a combination she’d never considered before. And yet the representatives from the wineries had told her that her brother and her best friend had worked quite well together, and had, moreover, seemed…close.
She sighed. There was a time when she would have been the first to know if there was a new man in Anna’s life. The two of them had shared everything, and there had never been any secrets between them, until now. They’d been friends from childhood, her father’s new housekeeper bringing an inbuilt playmate when she’d taken on the role.
They’d even attended the same private schools, with Charles picking up the tab for Anna’s fees so his daughter would never be without her best friend. Thinking about it, she could see why Anna was so fiercely devoted to her father. Charles Wilson had given her the world on a platter. A world her mother couldn’t have provided alone on a housekeeper’s salary. If Anna hadn’t done what Charles had asked of her, it would be like saying she didn’t appreciate everything the old man had done for her over the years, and Nicole knew without a shadow of doubt that he would have held his own loyalty to Anna over her head in some subtle way.
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