Stealing the Billionaire's Heart (8 page)

Nixie sent him a dirty look, but he
couldn’t see it due to the fact that he was still trying to find a way to get
them properly positioned. “This isn’t working.”

Nick gave a weary sigh and moved
away from her. “This isn’t working,” he agreed. He sat down next to her and
took in a few deep breaths, surveying the situation. After a moment, he said,
“You’re going to be on top.”

Nixie raised an eyebrow
skeptically. “How’s that gonna work?”

Nick slid closer to her. “Turn over
and climb on top.”

Nixie rolled her eyes. “This would
be so much easier if you’d just let me go, but whatever.” Very gingerly, she
climbed to her knees and turned to face him. When she spun, the handcuffs dug
uncomfortably into her wrists for a second, but she managed to get turned over
and onto his lap without too much effort or discomfort.

Nick gripped her thighs in his
hands and pulled her down onto his lap. “Now ride me.” He demanded it, his tone
conveying that he expected no argument. She didn’t plan to give him one.

With a little assistance, Nixie
managed to get him into place, and in one fluid motion, she impaled herself on
him.

Nick let out a low, deep groan from
underneath her.

She knew exactly how he felt. With
a soft sigh of satisfaction, Nixie began moving on top of him, driving him
deeper inside of her. Her head fell back and she had to bite her lip to keep
from crying out in ecstasy.

Due to the handcuffs, she was
forced to stay pinned tightly against Nick’s chest. Her breasts were crushed
firmly against him, her nipples tingling with each thrust as they were rubbed
along his shirt.

Nick’s arms were around her back,
holding her to him just as much as the cuffs were. His breathing was sporadic
and labored as his hips thrust upward to meet hers.

Unable to hold back, Nixie began
whimpering, noises that sounded almost like sobs escaping her throat each time
their bodies crashed together. She heard the springs on the bed protest as they
rocked simultaneously against each other.

Nick gave a grunt and his hands
slid down to her hips, yanking her down onto him as far as she could go. The
headboard smacked against the wall with a crack, drawing a chuckle from him.

His laugh was infectious and Nixie
giggled in response. She didn’t remember a time in her life when she’d ever
been happier. It didn’t matter that Nick thought she was a criminal. As long as
he continued to see her, things would be okay. She was happy just to be around
him. It was absolute pleasure to feel his lips as they grazed over her throat.
She loved the sensation of his arms around her, the possessive way his hands
slid along her skin. She loved his smile, his laugh…she loved him. She gave a
small gasp and her eyes widened at this realization. She couldn’t love him. It
was impossible. They barely knew each other.

Nick groaned her name into her
shoulder and just the sound of her name on his lips made her body tighten in
pleasure.

She finally gave in and accepted
the fact that maybe she was in love. When the mere sound of his voice sent her
pulse skyrocketing, there had to be something there.

While she was coming to terms with
this insight, Nick brought his right hand up and ran it slowly along her
throat. He then slid it leisurely downward, his hand exploring skin that was
slick with sweat. His palm slid steadily, descended over her belly, and finally
settled between her legs. He began gently stroking her clit with his thumb,
rubbing her until stars practically danced in front of her eyes.

Nixie picked up her pace, rocking
on top of him as quickly and vigorously as she could. A minute later, a hoarse
cry was torn from her throat as orgasm washed over her in wave after wave of
pleasure. She heard Nick’s holler of fulfillment, but was still too busy riding
out her own to fully concentrate on him.

After what felt like an eternity,
their frantic rhythm slowed and Nixie sluggishly returned to her senses. She
sat on top of him gasping for air with her limbs trembling weakly. She
collapsed against him, settling into his chest while they both struggled to
catch their breath. She lay there for a long time just letting him hold her
loosely in his arms, his body still resting inside of her.

Nick nuzzled her ear, leaving a
small kiss before whispering. “I need you in my life.” He ran his cheek along
her jaw, snuggling against her body. “I wouldn’t be able to survive if you were
to leave.” He sighed, the sound almost weary. “I tried so hard not to, but I
need you. I can’t explain it, but I do.”

Nixie felt her heart swell. Leaning
up, she stared into his blue eyes. “Nick, I…I love you.” She couldn’t believe
she was telling him this. It was too soon. It was irrational… It was the truth.
“I tried not to, but…” She shrugged again, feeling helpless. “It’s so hard
because you think I’m a bad person.”

Nick’s mouth opened to comment, but
she held a hand up, stopping him.

“I want you to know I never robbed
you. Ever. The night I broke into your house, I was there to
return
your
necklace. I swear it.” She gave him a small, encouraging smile. “That day in
the store, I gave you an empty box,” she said in explanation. “Remember when I
dropped all those boxes on the floor?”

On his nod, she continued. “I also
dropped
your
box. I got it mixed up with an empty one. By the time I
realized it, you had left.” She fiddled nervously with her fingernails. “In case
you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of clumsy.”

“No,” Nick cried, feigning
disbelief. He brought his hand up and rubbed her head where she’d cracked it on
the counter. “I’d never have guessed that.”

Nixie laughed and swatted his hand
away. “Well, I am, and it tends to make me late for work because I do stupid
things like get my shoe stuck in a parking garage grating. My boss told me I
was pretty much on my last screw up. When I switched those boxes, I was so
afraid of getting fired. You’re an important guy. If I would have driven away
such an esteemed customer, and if you would have raised a fuss, it would have
been bad for business. I was too afraid to tell my boss, so…so I tried
returning it without anyone knowing.”

“You risked getting caught and
going to prison to save your job? That’s just silly.”

Nick’s reasoning made her realize
how senseless of an idea her plan had been. “I was desperate. I also thought
you weren’t going to be home.”

“You’re lucky I was,” Nick
stressed. “You’re lucky I found you and not the cops. They are far less
forgiving.”

Nixie blushed. “I know it was unwise
and had I realized you were home, I never would have…”

“I’m glad you did,” Nick whispered.
Putting his hand on the back of her neck, he drew her to him for a slow kiss. “And
I believe you.”

Nixie let out a happy sob, her eyes
searching his. “You do?”

Nick nodded. “Yeah.” He gave her a
crooked grin. “That story is too stupid to be a lie.”

Nixie gave a cry of delight,
completely ignoring the comment about how stupid her little adventure had been,
and gave him a passionate kiss. “So you don’t hate me?”

“Just the opposite,” Nick said with
a goofy smile. “I do believe I love you.”

They both sat smiling at each other
until the sound of boots crunching on the gravel driveway outside drew their
gazes to the bedroom window.

“Are you expecting company?”

“No,” Nixie said in confusion. She
strained her ears, listening for a greeting from the visitor. The thing she
heard next made her blood run cold. The sound of a gun firing invaded her ears
a moment before the windows shattered and bullets sprayed around the room.
Nixie gave a terrified shriek and Nick scrambled out from under her.

“Get down! Get down!” Nick yelled.

Rolling over, Nixie went to dive
off the bed when the handcuffs pulled her forcibly back into place. “I can’t!”
she cried. “Uncuff me! Uncuff me!”

Nick went to reach into his pocket but
seemed to realize his pants were halfway across the room directly in the path
of the bullets. “I don’t have the keys!” He dove toward her, covering her with
his body.

Nixie buried her face in his
shoulder, her heart hammering wildly in her chest as a storm of bullets rained
down in her apartment.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.” Nick
repeated the words over and over as bullets tore through all of her belongings.

Nixie could feel his body tense as
he waited for a bullet to hit him, yet he still covered her, still protected
her. It barely lasted a minute, but it felt like forever to her. While she
cowered against Nick, the gunner finally retreated.

The sound of footsteps receded and
then they heard a car door slamming, followed by the squealing of tires.

Nick didn’t let her go once the car
peeled off. He continued to hold her, his arms shaking in fear. “We’re okay.
We’re okay.”

“Nick,” she said softly, evenly. “Get
me out of these cuffs.”

He jumped back. “Of course.” He
rushed over to his pants and began fumbling around for the keys. He rushed back
to her side and grimaced. “I am so unbelievably sorry. If I would have had any
idea…”

“Just get me out of here!”

Nick jammed the key into the lock
and a second later her hands were free.

She fell into his arms the instant
she was loose and burst into tears. She sobbed, breathing in gulping heaves.

He held her tightly, planning to
keep her in his arms as long as she needed him. Silently, he hoped that would
be forever. In reality, he only got to embrace her for a couple of minutes
because the siren and flashing lights of a police car invaded the room.

“Cops,” Nixie said, sounding
relieved. She glanced down at Nick and observantly said, “You should probably
put some pants on.”

Nick looked down at himself and
hissed. “Shit.” Rushing to the other side of the room, he snatched his pants up
and hurriedly began shrugging them on.

They were both just making it to
the front door when there was a knock on the other side. Nixie cautiously
glanced in the peephole before opening the door to the officer.

The policeman, Clark his nametag
read, glanced between them before finally saying, “We got a call from a
neighbor who reported hearing gunshots. Is everything okay over here?”

“No.” Nixie swung the door back as
far as it would go so he could step inside. “Thank goodness you’re here. Let me
know who the neighbor was so I can kiss them.”

“Ma’am, that is confiden—”

 
She didn’t even let him finish his sentence. “We
were in the bedroom when someone walked down my driveway and started firing
through the window. A minute later, they hopped into a car and took off.”

“It was like a drive-by shooting,”
Nick said in disbelief. His eyes slid accusingly to Nixie. “You lured me away
from the ritzy area and dumped me in the ghetto.”

“
The ghetto
?”

“I was never shot at until you came
along.” His voice sounded so reasonable it was irritating.

“Neither was I!” Nixie retorted
with a scowl. “Seeing as you were the one who was robbed this morning, I’m
putting the blame on you. It must be related.”

Officer Clark turned to Nick with a
look of interest. “You were robbed? Have you filed a report?”

“Not yet,” Nick said sheepishly.

Clark
gave him a disapproving look before turning to glance outside. “We
can assess the damage, inside and out, while my partner questions the neighbors
to see if there were any witnesses.” He gave Nick a long stare. “And Mr.
Morgan, we’ll need you to fill out that report.”

Looking completely chastised, Nick
nodded his head in agreement.

He held a hand out to Nixie,
smiling when she took it, and then the two of them followed Officer Clark to
assess the damage.

Chapter Six

Nixie awoke the next morning to the
sound of the phone ringing. She groaned, pulling the blanket over her head.
Maybe if she ignored the horrible electronic, it would realize she wasn’t going
to answer it and leave her alone.

“Hello?” Nick’s tired, sleepy voice
asked.

Nixie rolled over to look at him,
an amused smirk on her face at the fact that he was answering her telephone.

“Hello, Nixie’s mother,” he said
mischievously. “Yes. Your daughter’s right here.”

Nixie had given a panicked squeal
upon hearing the call was from her mother. She frantically scrambled over Nick
to get the receiver out of his hands.

He held it just out of her reach.
With his free hand, he pointed to his lips.

Nixie had climbed on top of him in
her attempt to get the phone. She was now straddling him, glaring down
threateningly. Finally, giving in with a huff, she leaned down and gave him a
quick kiss.

Nick pressed a hand to her back,
holding her to him, and deepened the kiss.