Heart Ache (Bound by a Touch Novels #1) (9 page)

“
Goodnight.”

His hazel eyes darkened to brown. “You sure you don’t wanna stay?”

“
I’m sure.”

He kissed the tip of her nose. Her eyes fluttered closed and she sighed. He slowly pulled her into his body and held her tight. Wrapped in his loving embrace, she knew she should be over-the-moon in love with this man. But knowing it didn’t make her feel it. Suddenly she couldn’t breathe.

“
I really should go.”

He released his hold. “Call me when you get home so I don’t worry.”

She nodded.

“
I love you, Gabs.”

“
Love you, too.”

THUMP-THUMP.

Thump-thump.

The beautiful woman shifted beneath his touch, rolling from her stomach to her side. More of her skin became exposed as the sheet clung to the luscious lines and curves of her delectable body. She sighed and whispered his name again.

Niko’s breath caught in his throat and his entire body tensed at the sight. Oh, the things he wanted to do to that body. He began to quake, head to toe. Shaking fingers lifted the sheet to cover her exposed breasts.

“
Someday,” he whispered to himself, raking his fingers through his hair and forcing his feet to move away from her. He took a seat in the chair on the opposite side of the room and watched her sleep. “I love you, Gabrielle.”

She moved and said his name, calling to him like ice cold water to a thirsty man. With every part of him aching for her touch, he grasped the last thread of his self control and forced himself to stay where he was. If he held her tonight, like he had in the past, he would undoubtedly lose control and take the sleeping woman; which would wake her, freak her out, and ruin everything.

A low groan rumbled in his chest and he rubbed at his beating heart to stifle it.
Six weeks
. He had forty-two short days left to get her to see the light, to understand just how much he loved her, how much he needed her. If she went through with her wedding…

He shook his head. No, he couldn’t bear to think of that possibility. Against his better judgment, he slid from the chair to kneel by the side of her bed and stroked a finger down her cheekbone.

“
Gabrielle,” his accent ran thick.

“
Hmm?” She shifted again. The sheet fell away, exposing the most delicious pieces of her body.

His eyes slammed shut and there she was on the back of his eyelids. He cursed and stumbled back, falling into the small, white wicker chair in the corner. His hands gripped tightly around the arms, the wood creaked under his hold.

Heaven help him.

Every cell in his body screamed for him to take her. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t do so while she was unconscious. He would never take her without her permission, he had honor.

He wasn’t a selfish bastard.

He wasn’t his father.

Leaning forward, resting his forearms on the bed, he whispered, “I love you, Gabrielle.”

Saying those words to her, even though she was unconscious, lightened his heart as nothing else could. If only she would say them back. A declaration from her now would give him the courage to voice his feelings when she was actually coherent enough to understand them.

Thoughts of what to say and how to get his message across to her ran rampant in his mind. He paused, inhaled deeply then released the breath slowly through his teeth, making a soft half hiss, half whistle noise.

“
You can’t marry him … because I love you.”

“
Nikolai,” she muttered sleepily then she stirred, moved her legs, and, to his horror, sat straight up in the bed. “Ni—!”

Whether she’d seen him or not, he couldn’t be sure. He’d vaporized so quickly, he wasn’t sure exactly where he was going to end up until he landed with a thud in his bedroom.

“
Shit!”

He rammed his fingers through his hair and dropped onto his bed. He let his head fall into his hands and held it, rubbing at his temples.

Six weeks
, he told himself,
you only have six weeks.

Chapter Seven

Gabby leaned back in her chair, popped her feet up on her desk, and crossed her ankles. She lifted her book and sighed. She wasn’t the kind to waste time, but…

A deep bark of laughter scared the bejeezus out of her. She jumped. The momentum made the chair roll backward. It tipped back and she wobbled, flapping her arms in an attempt to keep herself off the floor. The chair slammed into the bookcase behind her with a thud and sent her forward like a pinball.

When the chair stopped rolling and she was able to breathe again, she glared at Vincent. Normally she really liked the guy. In this moment, though, she considered putting a laxative in his coffee.

“
That wasn’t very nice.”

“
It’s not very nice of you to sit and read on company time.” He bit his lip to keep from smiling, but amusement shone like a beacon in his gray eyes.

She pointedly glanced at the wall. “It is 5:32,
Mr. Kottke
.”

“
Ah, I guess it is. And since it
is
5:32 in the evening, may I ask why you are sitting at your desk, reading?”

“
Niko asked me to stay until 6:00. I’m just doin’ my job.” She shrugged and popped her feet back on top of her desk. She maintained eye contact with him as she opened up her book again.

He groaned. “Come now, Gabby girl, surely you can find better things to read than that trash.”

“
Trash?” She gaped at him. “I’ll have you know, I have read this trash three times and—”

“
Three times
?” The mortified disbelief on his face was comical, but she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. “Has the bookstore got nothing else you’d rather read? Maybe you should try shopping online.”

“
Actually—” She couldn’t help but sigh as she thought of the sexy man with the sinful canines. “—I’ve discovered that I am completely in I love with this one.”

“
Are you now?” He sounded blasé, bored, patronizing.

“
Yes, the guy’s
dreamy
.” She fanned herself with the book, deliberately pushing the buttons of the straight-laced vice president. She dropped her feet to the floor. They met the mat in a clunk. She leaned forward and stage whispered, “And haven’t you heard; vampires exist?”

He choked and coughed, spit and sputtered. His eyes watered. He bent at the waist, hands on knees, breathing deep. Not willing to let him die, she jumped to her feet, grabbed a water bottle from the table next to her desk, and handed it to him. He broke the seal on the bottle and guzzled half of it, swallowed hard. Twice.

“
Oh my gosh, are you okay?”

When he nodded, she took a step toward him. She loved to push Vincent’s buttons, to tease him whenever the occasion presented itself. For whatever reason her reading a stupid vampire romance novel made him manic. She grinned up at him.

“
They exist, Vincent. Deny it, I dare you.”

He suddenly looked very much like an animal stuck in a trap. His Adam’s apple bobbed with another swallow. His dark eyes darted a glance at Niko’s closed office door. When she took hold of his forearm the look in his eye said he considered gnawing it off to get away from her.

Laughter bubbled in her gut. She tried to contain it by pressing her lips together. It didn’t do any good. Her amusement came out as a raspberry and continued until she was nearly hysterical. Her lungs burned for breath. She gasped.

“
I’m not mental, Vincent.” Another round of giggles cut off her explanation. After a few moments to get it out of her system, she continued, “I know vampires are figments of insane people’s imaginations.”

Vincent’s laugh sounded like his balls were in a vise, all high-pitched, tight and strangled. He handed her a twenty. “Listen, Gabby, do me a favor and get another vampire to love.”

“
Wow! I can have more than one? I’ll be a vampire whore.” She snatched the money from him and shoved it down her cleavage before plopping down in her chair and returning her feet to the desk top.

His reaction was exactly what she’d hoped for; he laughed. A deep, dark belly laugh that made her smile. He winked at her before opening the door to Niko’s office and disappearing inside.

Laughter rang out on the other side of the door and Nikolai stopped pacing. He listened to Gabby’s giggles accompanied by a male’s low rumbling chuckles and fought the drive to put his fist into the male’s jaw.

He would drive himself insane if his surprise didn’t arrive soon. He walked over to the window and looked down at the darkening landscape.
Damn. Where were they?

The door to his office opened and Vincent’s scent wafted in. He was still chuckling. “That female is one in a million.”

Nikolai attempted a smile, but it was more tight lips pulled back to expose clenched teeth. Vincent frowned.

“
You okay, man?” His amusement melted into concern. He gripped the door to close it and Niko jumped at him.

“
No!
” He took a breath. “Leave it open,” he tacked on quietly. “Please.”

Good hell! He was going to lose his freakin’ mind!

Vincent let go of the door and walked over to sit in one of the chairs in front of the desk. “I’d like to speak with you, and I think it would be better—”

“
Shh!” Niko rushed toward the door and flattened himself against the wall. Voices in her office caused every muscle in his body to tighten. His surprise had arrived.

“
I’m Gabby Ryan.” A shuffling sound. “Oh, they’re beautiful.”

“
No, the tip has been taken care of,” the deliveryman told her and the outside door closed.

His heart rate increased to an almost violent rate as excitement and anticipation consumed him. He watched as Vincent gathered the shadows, concealing himself. He assumed his friend had slipped through the gap in the door to gain a ring-side seat to the scene unfolding in her office.

Through the crack in the door, Niko could see the vase where she’d set it on the desk. Her fingers plucked the card from amongst the petals. He heard a wistful sigh and he smiled. At any moment she would rush through the door and into his arms. He took a deep breath to calm his pounding heart and started toward his desk.

“
Jayson,” she squealed.

He stopped midstep.
What the hell?

“
Thank you so much. They’re beautiful.”

Nikolai stretched his senses to be able to hear the human’s answer. There was only a split second of
“Huh? What?”
before he responded, “I’m glad you love them. Did they get the card right?”

“
You are my everything,” she said reverently.

“
My
everything.” Niko prowled from one end of the office to the other. His hands fisted. His teeth ground together.

“
Wow, he’s good.” Vincent’s voice appeared before he released his hold on the shadows and became corporeal.

Niko whipped around and narrowed his eyes. “Those are
my
flowers.”

He felt his eyes flash from black to silver as his rage took over. He couldn’t stop his reactions though. He ran a hand through his hair and tugged before slamming his fists into his thighs. “How dare that stupid
man
take credit for
my
flowers.”

“
He
is playing the game, my friend. Speaking of which, I—” Vincent stopped just as Gabby headed toward them.

She knocked her knuckles lightly on the jamb. “Niko, it’s 5:45 and—”

Niko cut her off with a waved dismissal. His hand shook and he shoved it into his pocket.

“
Go. It’s fine. I’ll see you later.” His tone was just shy of irate and he hated himself for striking out at her. He wasn’t angry at her, but she certainly played a part in his current mood.

He’d expected for her to know the flowers were from him. He’d anticipated the look of love on her face as she raced into his office and launched herself into his waiting arms, covering his face with kisses of gratitude.

He clamped his teeth together so tightly his jaw hurt. Jayson had a big set, no doubt about that. To actually claim flowers he didn’t send … Niko shook his head.

“
I can stay—”

“
Go.” He was about to get violent.

“
If you’re sure.” Her voice cracked a bit.

“
Goodnight Gabrielle.”

Her eyes betrayed the hurt of his dismissal but he couldn’t bring himself to apologize. He couldn’t even look at her. He went around his desk and sat, opening a file. He could feel her eyes searching his body language for what had set him off. He was afraid he’d yell at her if he opened his mouth. Or worse, he’d take her in his arms and never let her go.