Swimming and sun baking was just what Abbey needed to forget about Damien Vane.
The I.T. Director of the hospital droned on and on. Nick nodded at pertinent moments, like when he said he'd never seen a software package that could do everything he wanted, but he never really heard more than a few choice words. Fortunately, the director didn't seem to realize that Nick wasn't listening, nor did any of the others who visited Software Solutions stand at the seminar that day.
And fortunately, Nick had done enough demos already for them to become mechanical. Just as well, because his brain was not functioning normally. Maybe it was the lack of sleep and the heat.
Who was he kidding? He couldn't sleep because he couldn't stop thinking about Abbey. Just like he couldn't stop thinking about her now as the overweight, balding man droned on about his computer system needs.
Images of her luscious body filled his thoughts-her round br**sts, pert bottom and the way she sighed when he touched her.
And the way she'd slapped him.
Nick could still feel the sting of her hand on his cheek. Or maybe that was the sting to his ego. He'd never been slapped before, and he was damned sure he would never let his guard down enough that it would happen again.
It crossed his mind that he might have deserved it, but he shoved those thoughts away just as he tried to shove away thoughts of Abbey's naked body. He was unsuccessful on both counts.
So if she wasn't a hooker, what was she? And why did she have sex with him?
Maybe her story was true. Maybe she really was a masseur, employed by the hotel to give free massages to selected guests. Maybe the moment had just overcome her, as it had done him, and she'd been unable to resist the passion that had arisen between them. Maybe she'd enjoyed it so much on the first night she'd decided to come back for more.
But it still didn't add up. And it begged the question-how many other men had she been giving free "massages" to when the moment had just overcome her? Nick didn't want to think about that.
He nodded as the bald director ran through the configuration of their network and other dry details that Nick knew he should be listening to. The thought of Abbey coming back again, tonight, wanting him again, needing to make love to him like he needed to make love to her, was consuming him.
But it wouldn't happen. He'd insulted her. She hated him. No, Abbey wasn't coming back. He'd never see her again, of that he was sure. His gut tightened.
Maybe he could just hang around in the foyer until she appeared for work.
Nick shook his head. This was ridiculous. Her story was most likely a lie. And if she wasn't prepared to tell him last night who or what she was, then he didn't want to see her again.
No one lies to Nick Delaware, and no one makes a fool of him. Abbey had done both.
Nick sighed and wondered if it would be unprofessional to wind up this discussion. It was his last demo for the day and suddenly he had an urge to go to the beach. Maybe it was his subconscious thinking about Abbey again since she'd mentioned beaches at the restaurant. The thought of sun and sand was relaxing. He could spend the afternoon at a local beach, then return to the hotel to do some work. He had two major pharmaceutical companies to demo to tomorrow and he wanted their business. He needed to be prepared, and fresh. He needed to concentrate on the task, not on a naked Abbey.
An hour later, he was diving into the cool shallows of Port Phillip Bay. The rush of water over his skin was refreshing, soothing his frustrated temper. He stayed under until his lungs felt like they'd burst. Then he swam out, further out than anyone else, stroke over easy stroke, becoming one with the sea.
He floated on his back for a while, staring up at the impossibly blue sky, just like he used to do when he surfed at Bondi Beach in his younger, wilder days. He felt a twinge of regret that he hadn't really noticed how blue the summer sky was in nearly ten years.
Sentimental fool. He turned and swam back in. When he reached the beach he stood and walked up to the patch of sand where he'd left his towel. Two women now sat next to his things, invading his personal space. Great, now he would have to move, or tell them to.
As he drew closer, his heart took a dive as he recognized one of them-Abbey. Of all the beaches in Melbourne, she'd had to come to this one.
For a long moment, Nick stood frozen to the spot, watching her. She hadn't seen him yet. She sat with her friend, a pretty girl with blonde hair cropped short and a body as good as Abbey's.
Abbey was dressed in a pale blue dress that rose up high as she sat, revealing the luscious flesh of her thighs. The thin straps fell off her shoulders and she occasionally pushed them back up as she chatted. The dress hugged her figure tightly, especially around her br**sts, revealing their perfect outline.