Bedding The Billionaire (20 page)

She stood and paced the length of the bed, then paused
and glared down at him. Her chest heaved.

"What sort of woman do you think I am, Nick? Oh,
yes, that's right," she sneered, "you think I'm a whore."

"I don't think
—
"

"No, you didn't think, did you? Do you have any
idea how it made me feel when I found out you two were concocting a little game
between yourselves to trap me?"

"It wasn't a game and I wasn't trying to trap
you."

"Then why the secrets? Why was it so important
you keep your identity from me?"

"Abbey, calm down. I just wanted to know whether
you liked me for who I was, or because of my money."

"So you let me think I was sleeping with a
married man with a string of mistresses, just to see if I really liked you? That's
low, Nick, real low."

He hadn't thought of that. He hadn't considered that
Abbey knew about Vane's past, and that it mattered to her. In a way, knowing
that it
did
matter was heartening. It meant she liked him, had feelings
for him, perhaps even wanted him all to herself.

But it also justified her anger and he didn't think
his meager apology was going to make up for it.

"Well?" she asked, before he could say
anything. "Did I pass your test?"

Nick gulped. Abbey's eyes flashed blue sparks at him
as she stood, hands on hips, glaring down at him. He felt very vulnerable.

It was not an emotion he liked.

"Abbey, this is ridiculous. Let me go. I mean it.
This isn't a joke."

"It never was a joke, Nick. And no, I will not
let you go until you answer me. Did I pass your little test?"

He ground his teeth together. "Of course you did.
You came here didn't you? We made love..."

She crossed her arms. "After I was with
Vane."

Nick felt like his intestines had been tied into a
knot and someone was pulling the ends. His head dropped back onto the pillows
and he groaned. Damn Vane.

And damn Abbey. She could go to hell for all he cared.
She'd slept with Vane. She'd actually slept with that slimy snake, just to get
back at him for lying.

The thought made him sick. He drew in several shallow
breaths and focused on a spot on the ceiling. It didn't help. He was going to
throw up.

No, he wasn't, he just
wanted
to. He wanted to
get the taste of Abbey off his lips and out of his system. How could she have
slept with Vane after all that had passed between them? Had she done it just to
get back at him?

He closed his eyes and heard her breathing suddenly
become labored. Then he heard a sob. He opened his eyes again and glanced up at
her. She stood beside him, her face in her hands. The sight was painful and he
was glad he was tied up so he couldn't comfort her like his instincts wanted
to.

No, she needed to regret what she'd done. She needed
to know she'd made the wrong decision by sleeping with Vane. He wanted her to
suffer the way he was suffering.

But his instincts pulled hard. He tried to move but
his tight bonds prevented him. Trapped. He hated not being able to do anything.
Hated feeling useless, vulnerable.

"Abbey," he said quietly. She didn't look
up. "Come here. Untie me and we'll sort this out."

She
shook her head, wiped away her tears and walked toward the door. She turned,
then with a toss of her hair, left.

"Abbey! Abbey get back here! Abbey!"

The door closed and Nick swore until he had no energy
left.

***

Abbey sat on her couch, head in her hands, trying not
to cry. She didn't want Lucy to think she was weak and hopeless when it came to
men. After ten minutes, she gave up trying to hold back the burning tears and
let them pour out of her. Lucy would understand. She knew what Abbey was like
anyway.

She heard Lucy sigh, pad across her floor and felt her
comforting arm around her shoulders.

"Why do you do this to yourself?" Lucy
asked.

Abbey shrugged. She didn't have an answer to that. She
just figured she was genetically geared to fail where men were concerned. She
had a habit of picking the wrong ones, except this time it was worse. She
really felt like her heart had been ripped out of her body, tossed around, then
put back upside down and inside out.

She felt awful.

And she had no one to blame but herself.

"I let him think I slept with Vane."

"What! Why?"

Abbey shrugged. "It seemed like a good way to
punish him at the time." She sobbed. "And because I'm an idiot."

Lucy hugged her. "You're not an idiot. It's
probably your subconscious helping you out."

Abbey withdrew her hands and looked at her friend. This
she had to hear.

"Maybe you're really not interested in Nick
Delaware after all and it was your subconscious telling you. Besides, it's a
great punishment. I couldn't have thought of a better one myself."

Abbey returned her head to her hands and let out a low
wail. "That's the lousiest piece of advice you've given me yet."

Lucy sighed. "I know but it was the only thing I
could come up with on short notice. Look, Abbey Girl, he's gone back to Sydney
already. Unless the hotel’s housekeeper didn't arrive on time." Lucy burst
out laughing. Abbey shed a fresh set of tears.

"Oh, now, I was kidding. It's just that the image
of a little old woman walking in on a naked Nick Delaware tied to a bed is
hilarious. It’s exactly what he deserves. Imagine his humiliation! It’s
fantastically funny."

"No, it's dreadful. He must hate me."

"Probably."

"Oh, Lucy, what am I going to do?"

"Nothing. Forget about him."

"I can't. I think I'm in love with him."

"You haven't even known him a week! How can you
be in love with him?"

Abbey shrugged. She didn't know the answer to that,
but her heart told her it was true. Surely it wouldn't hurt this much if she
didn't love him.

"Besides, it's only been a day since you saw him
—
these things take time to get over. Give it another week or two and
you'll laugh about this." Lucy laughed. "It's very funny. I can just
picture his face
—
"

"Don't, please. I feel like the worst woman in
the world."

"Why? What did
you
do? He's the one who
lied. He's the one who put you through a ridiculous test. He's the one with an
ego problem, not you."

"Yes, but I told him I slept with Vane when I
didn't. Now he thinks that not only was his test justified but I'm a slut
too."

"Don't
let any man call you a slut. You're not. No woman is. We don't call single men
names when they sleep around yet we get labeled sluts and whores when
we
do. It's wrong. If any man called me a slut I'd knock him down flat."

Abbey almost smiled. She could imagine Lucy doing just
that. "Yes, but you didn't see the look on his face. He was...horrified. I
thought he was going to be sick."

Abbey started a fresh bout of crying. Nick had looked
awful when she'd thrown him that lie. Something inside him just seemed to
go...slack. As if he'd been crushed.

As soon as she'd said it Abbey had regretted it. She
wanted to get Nick back for lying to her, but she should have settled with
tying him to the bed and leaving. That at least was embarrassing and should put
a severe dent in his arrogant ego when housekeeping turned up. But letting him
think she'd slept with Damien was unfair.

And it appeared to affect him more than the bondage.

In fact, if he did have any feelings for her, that
little piece of information would drive them away. He wasn't likely to call her
now.

Good. She didn't want him calling her. She just wanted
to forget about him and this entire sorry week. She wanted to get on with her
life.

"Abbey
Girl, let me assure you that however he looked last night, he's going to forget
about you within the week. He'll be dating some society bimbo who fawns over
him and really does only want him for his money. But I doubt he'll forget the
housekeeper's face as she untied him
—
at least you made some
impact." She giggled again. "I wish I'd been there."

Abbey
raised her head. "Do you think so? Do you really think he'll forget me
that quickly?"

A tear
dripped down each cheek as that thought sank in. Maybe he
would
get over
her easily. She couldn't see why not. A good looking rich man like Nick
probably had models throwing themselves at his feet. The thought made her feel
ill again.

The
phone rang and Lucy picked it up. She listened then put the receiver to her
breast so the other person couldn't hear.

"It's
Tarken. Shall I get rid of him?"

Abbey
hesitated. The last person she wanted to speak to was Tarken but she didn't
want Lucy to hang up on him when he knew she was there. She didn't want to hurt
any more feelings today.

She
wiped her eyes. "Ask him what she wants."

Lucy put
the phone back to her ear. "She wants to know what you want." Lucy
listened, then put the phone back to her breast again. She was trying hard not
to laugh. "He's at the office. He says Goldstein wants a report and he
hasn't written it yet. He wants to know if you'll go in and help him. He says
he'll pay you by the hour. Abbey, please give me the pleasure of telling him
no."

Abbey
nodded grimly. "Be my guest."

"The
answer's no you bucket of slime," Lucy said into the phone. "Abbey
doesn't want to talk to you or see your ugly face ever again. Got it?" She
hung up and grinned at Abbey. "Good girl. You're making progress where
he's concerned at least. Now if we can just get you to forget about Nick."

Abbey
let out a low moan and put her head in her hands again.

She
wasn't going to be able to forget Nick Delaware that easily.

Nick leaned back in his leather chair, linked his
hands behind his head, and stared out the floor-to-ceiling window of his
thirty-fourth floor office. The view over the Sydney Harbor usually calmed him,
allowing him to think clearly through meetings, negotiations and other sundry
issues.

But today the view did nothing to relax him. The sharp
pain that had continued to stab at his heart since Friday night was still
there, hacking away.

Friday night. It was a night he'd never forget, that
was for sure. But for all the wrong reasons.

The way Abbey had looked in that blue dress, the way
it hugged her figure and rose and fell in time with her heavy breathing. She'd
wanted him, he could tell. Wanted him, yet all the time, hated him.

Nick closed his eyes to block out the cheery blue sky
and the memory of Abbey on that night. He didn't want to be cheery today, and
he didn't want to remember Abbey.

Ever.

Problem was, it would take a hell of a long time to
forget her.

How could he have made so many stupid mistakes in such
a short amount of time? It wasn't like him. He'd never failed so perfectly as
he'd failed last week.

His mistakes were too numerous to count. He should
have told Abbey who he really was. It wasn't like there weren't enough
opportunities. He shouldn't have called her a hooker for starters, especially
to her face, and he shouldn't have put her through that ridiculous test.

And finally he should have told her he loved her.

That last realization had hit him so hard he couldn’t
stop shaking. On Friday night the minutes had ticked by so slowly as he waited
for dawn and the housekeeper, that it had given him a long time to think. His
anger and vulnerability had subsided, surprisingly, replaced with a tumult of
other emotions and fears. Most of them centered over his realization that he
adored Abbey, and that he was afraid of losing her. As he lay on top of the
bed, naked and bound, he understood what it meant to be stripped of his self-control.
And it had nothing to do with the thought of being found like that in the
morning.

Abbey. The woman with the perfect body, bright
inquisitive eyes, mouth that begged to be kissed and the ability to make him
laugh. He groaned. How could he have ever thought she was a hooker?

He blew out a breath and turned back to the view. What
view Abbey was seeing today?

His phone buzzed and he picked up.

"Tarken Pratt from JJC Pharmaceuticals in
Melbourne for you, sir. Shall I put him through?"

Nick thought about saying no, then changed his mind. Maybe
Tarken had some news about Abbey. Maybe she was working for him again. Maybe he
could repair some of the damage if he could speak to her.

"Delaware here," he said into the receiver.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Delaware, we met in Melbourne last
week. I was the, ah, date of Abbey McPherson."