Abbey finally opened the door and stepped inside. Before she had a chance to close it, Nick had her in his arms. His mouth covered hers in a hard, searching kiss as he picked her up and carried her to the bed.
He undid the buttons on her shirt and his hand found a pliant breast. His thumb strummed the nipple slowly through the thin fabric of her bra and it didn't take long before Abbey's breath was coming short and fast.
His other hand moved down and unzipped her skirt. It puddled at her feet. She stepped out of it and drew her panties down her legs. Nick unhooked her bra and licked each nipple until Abbey's body was arching into his. His erection, still inside his pants, was huge and throbbing as it pressed against her. She fumbled with his belt and fly but he drew himself away.
"Not yet," he whispered. "You first."
His tongue traveled from her br**sts to her stomach and downwards until it met the triangle of hair below her belly. With a few flicks of his tongue on the right spot, she began to pant and spread her legs wider.
"Oh my..."
Nick's hands reached around and sank into her behind, caressing the mounds of flesh. But Abbey barely noticed. Her own hands sank into his hair as the shudders began to overtake her, and soon she was rocking, her head thrown back and a low cry gurgling in her throat.
She rode the waves until her legs felt like jelly and could no longer hold her up.
"Come here," she whispered hoarsely.
Nick rose and picked her up, gently placing her on the bed. He raised himself above her, his stiff erection poised. She placed a hand gently on his chest and shook her head.
"I want you to lie down."
He did, and she straddled him. She lowered herself onto him and watched as he shut his eyes, threw his head back and sucked in a breath through his teeth. Within moments he was arching into her, thrusting higher inside her.
She began slowly, moving her body gently to the rhythm of their heartbeats, then she stepped it up a notch.
Nick caught hold of her hips.
"If you keep doing that I won't last long. It's been a whole month."
But instead of slowing, Abbey smiled wickedly and picked up the pace until she was pumping him hard. With a stifled cry and a sudden thrust into her, he climaxed, his fingers gripping her hips.
Abbey collapsed on top of him, stretching out her legs to lie her entire length on his. He hugged her to him tightly, one hand buried in her hair, the other around her waist. She listened to his breathing. It started out as fast and heavy then dropped to a regular pace before slowing dramatically as he dozed off.
She closed her eyes but couldn't sleep. This was what she'd wanted to do for the last month. She'd thought of nothing else until now. She wanted to enjoy this moment.
Because she had a feeling it wasn't going to last.
Finally she got up and went into the bathroom. When she came out, Nick was sitting up on the bed waiting for her. By the look of his stiffening erection he was ready to go again.
Abbey wasn't. She was going to sort this out once and for all.
She shook her head and Nick frowned.
"What's wrong?" he asked. He patted the bed beside him and when she sat, he put his arm around her and hugged her close.
"What's wrong, Sweetheart?"
She sighed. It was now or never.
"On the night when I left, I told you I slept with Vane." She felt him stiffen and his arm suddenly retreated. "I lied. I didn't."
Nick moved away from her. He stopped, paced the room once, then returned to the bed. He lifted her chin. "Then why did you tell me you did?"
She shrugged and lowered her gaze. "To hurt your feelings."
"You succeeded," he whispered. He turned away from her and headed into the bathroom. When he came out, Abbey swallowed. He avoided her gaze.
"Why don't you want to talk about this?" she said.
"Because I want to forget about it. I want to start over. I'm not proud of the way I lost control over the situation back then."
"I'm not proud of a lot things either," said Abbey. But he still didn't look at her. There was something else. And she knew what it was. "You don't believe me do you? You still think I slept with him."
He shook his head but said nothing. He was pulling on his shorts and pants.
"Nick stop. Talk to me. Do you believe me?"
He sighed. "Abbey, I told you, I don't want to talk about it." He stopped, fly still undone and came to the bed. He kissed her deeply and held her to him, resting his chin on her head.
She could hear his heart beating rapidly and loudly. Nick's arms felt good around her, reassuring, but his rigid body told the truth. He thought she was lying, and it still pained him to think that she'd slept with that creep Vane.
It pained Abbey that he didn't believe her. Did that mean he still thought she was a gold digger too?
"Why don't you believe me?" she asked, her voice sounding small.
Nick touched her chin so she was forced to look up at him. "Abbey, it doesn't matter. The important thing is I want to start all this over again and do it properly. I've decided I want to be with you. What happened then is history."
"It's not history! It was only a month ago. And you don't believe me! Will you ever believe me, Nick, or will you always wonder if I'm here because of your money? Will you always wonder what really happened that night? Will you always think I came to you because I wanted the real Nick Delaware, the wealthy one?"
Abbey choked back a sob and Nick reached for her.
"Abbey, don't do this. It's not necessary."
"Damn you, it is necessary! You still think I'm here for your money, don't you?"
"Abbey, I don't care."
The tears flowed down her cheeks, burning her eyes and choking her throat. "What? You don't care that I'm a gold digger?"
He threw his hands up in exasperation, then tried to hold her but she stood and walked away. She pulled a robe out of the closet and threw it around her shoulders.
Nick followed her but she held out her hand. "Don't touch me."
"Abbey, Sweetheart, please listen to me." He paused and ran a hand through his hair. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly. "I'm sorry if you feel like that, but you're right. I wonder about it, but I've decided I don't care if you slept with him or not. I just want you. I've made my decision."
He reached for her but again she moved away.
"Have you decided that I'm a liar as well as a whore?"
"Abbey, don't talk like that."
"It's true. You think I'm after you for your money."
Nick threw up his hands. "So what? I don't care. Have it. It hasn't made me happy, but if that's what you want—"