Apparently not because she emitted a low growl, then reached for the door handle.
But Nick wasn't ready to let her go yet. He wanted answers. He placed a hand against the door beside her head, slamming it closed again. Abbey swung round. She was trapped between the wall and his arm. Good. Maybe now he could reason with her.
"Let me out or I'll scream."
He smiled down at her. "Go ahead."
She screwed up her nose, closed her eyes and opened her mouth. Hell, she really was going to scream! He did the first thing that came into his mind—he kissed her. Hard and deep. He took her face in his hands and rubbed his thumbs along her cheeks, gently. She groaned and he thought he had her. He thought she'd succumb to his kiss. Maybe she'd stay with him a while longer, tell him everything he wanted to know. Everything he needed to know.
But he was wrong. Abbey stopped kissing him and pushed away. Her eyes glowed up at him like two blue flames. "You're an ass**le, do you know that? You think everyone should bow to your whim, especially women. Well, I've got news for you, Buddy. I hate arrogant men. You can't order people around and you can't make women do what you want them to do with a kiss."
She spun round and opened the door. Nick swallowed. He had to think, but he couldn't. His brain was failing him, for the first time in his life.
"Abbey," he said softly, "don't go."
She swung round again. "And don't think that a few gently spoken words are going to work either, because they don't." She sniffed. "Not on me anyway."
Nick stood, rooted to the floor. He was still naked, he realized, but he didn't care. What could he say to make her stay? And what in the world was she doing in his hotel in the first place?
"Just tell me one thing. If you're not a hooker, then why did you come to my room in the first place?"
She paused, the door wide open. She glanced up at him then looked away, out into the corridor. "Free massage, complements of hotel management."
She walked across the threshold without looking back. The door swung closed behind her.
Nick let her go. If she wasn't going to tell him the truth then he didn't want to see her again.
Nobody lies to Nick Delaware.
CHAPTER 5
Abbey sat in the swivel chair behind Lucy's desk, staring blankly out the window at the rundown warehouse next door, while her friend studied a role of film negatives.
"This is really hot," Lucy said, a smile in her voice. "We could put this stuff up on the Web and make a fortune at a dollar a peep."
"Very funny." Abbey sighed and passed a hand over her face. It was one o'clock in the afternoon. She'd had zero sleep, it was hot and Lucy's office was stifling with only a noisy old fan to circulate the stuffy air.
Lucy sat on the edge of the desk, her face suddenly turning serious. "Look, Abbey, don't get upset over what this guy said. It was bound to happen considering the circumstances. He's a jerk and you're not a hooker. Forget about it. He's not worth it."
"Easier said than done. It's not everyday I get accused of being a prostitute." Abbey still couldn't believe Damien had actually had the nerve to offer her money after what they'd shared. Is that what the sex had meant to him? Is that what she'd meant to him?
"Well, what did you expect? You were dressed like a hooker, you entered his apartment with a flimsy excuse and you jumped him within five seconds. I think it was a pretty darn natural thing for him to assume given the circumstances. I still think you should've taken the money. Three hundred will pay the rent."
"Lucy! I will not take money for sex!"
"No." She held up the roll of film to the light. "But you'll take money to create the illusion of it."
"That's different."
"If believing that makes you happy, then go ahead and think it, Abbey Girl. It sure doesn't worry me what anyone thinks about this whole thing. As soon as I get these processed, I'll send them up to your lover's wife and cash in. That's all I care about."
"You're cheaper than me," Abbey said with a grin. Lucy's irreverent attitude was somehow reassuring. Her friend was right, and Abbey knew it, deep down. She just had to admit to herself that it actually was about money—just not Damien Vane's. And not in exchange for sex.
"And he's not my lover," she added. "Well, technically he was, but not any more. I'm not going anywhere near Le Meridian, or even Collins Street for that matter, until he's left. I may be poor but I've got my pride."
"Good for you." Lucy slipped Abbey a sly smile. "You know, if you'd taken that money, we could be sipping cocktails about now."
Abbey playfully threw a pencil at her friend. It missed her by a mile. "Stop reminding me about the money. After the crap I heard come out of that arrogant jerk's mouth, I probably should've taken it. The guy's attitude is stuck in the Nineteen Eighties. I don't think the word 'sensitive' is even in his vocabulary."
"Pity I wasn't there," Lucy said having another look over the negatives. "I would've given him a talking to about how to treat a lady."
"And he'd turn around and tell you I wasn't a lady." Abbey sighed. She definitely hadn't behaved like a lady last night. She'd never slapped anyone across the face before, although she'd been tempted to in Tarken's office on Monday morning.
Damien Vane had had it coming though. Despite what Lucy said, being called a hooker was an insult, no matter how honest the mistake.
Besides, if she were a hooker, what did that make him? Pathetic, that's what.
She was going to forget Damien Vane.
"Vane by name, vain by nature," Abbey mumbled.
"Now, now, leave the poor guy alone. I think you just confused the hell out of him. He obviously needed to get laid and you just happened to be conveniently on his doorstep at the time."
"Lucky me."
"Hey, now I like this one." She pointed to one of the negatives. "It's quite artistic, if I do say so myself. I think we'll send Mrs. Vane this one. It doesn't show your face, so your anonymity will be preserved, but it has a great shot of him at the moment of truth. Here, have a look." Lucy couldn't afford to buy expensive digital cameras—not the kind that could do everything she needed—and she said she liked working with the older models anyway.
She shoved the roll under her friend's nose. Abbey turned away and held up her hands in protest. "No, I don't want to see them. I don't want to be reminded of my stupidity, okay? And I wish you wouldn't study those so closely. It's bad enough knowing you saw everything when it actually happened."