"Abbey," he said softly. He drew her to him. "If you're not a hooker-"
"Which I'm not."
Nick nodded. "Which you're not, then what's going on?"
Abbey shook her head and Nick felt his blood begin to heat up. "Tell me."
"You don't need to know."
"The hell I don't!" I've just slept with you-more than once-I think I have a right to know who, and what, you are."
"We agreed this was just sex," she said through gritted teeth. She pulled her arm out of his grip. "No strings attached. Two consenting adults. Remember?"
Her glare dared him to deny it.
He wanted to. He wanted to tell her how much he'd liked it. How much he liked her company. How much he wanted to see her again. But he couldn't. She may not be a hooker, but he still had no idea what she wanted from him. Until she told him, he wasn't going to give her an inch. This was just like closing a business deal-never let the opposition see all your cards at once. It paid to keep something back until they revealed all of theirs.
"Yeah," he said casually. "It was just sex. Is that what you wanted to hear?"
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!"