She stepped into the den and her eyes were drawn to a side table with several dishes on it, filled with delicious smelling food. She wanted so badly to step over to the table and grab a plate full of food but she wasn't even a guest in the house and couldn't bring herself to do it.
Ryan was sitting at the small corner table and saw the look of hunger on Nicole's face. He silently watched her. Even though it was obvious she was starving, she was so damn stubborn, she wouldn't even feed herself. He blew out a breath of frustration.
"Would you please quit staring at the food as if it will disappear and get yourself a plate? We can talk over breakfast," he said to her. She jumped when she heard his voice. It was obvious she hadn't realized he was in the room.
"Thank you," she muttered and didn't have to be told twice. She dug into the food like it was her last meal. Heck, the way she lived it could be a while before she was able to eat this well again and she knew it. She didn't even care if she looked like a complete pig. She was going to eat until her stomach hurt. She really didn't care what he'd have to say about it.
Nicole sat at the table and began eating as if it were a race. Unfortunately her stomach had shrunk over the months and she wasn't even able to finish a quarter of the food she'd placed on her plate. His housekeeper came and tried to clear her plate and she almost growled at her. The woman looked up startled.
"I'm not done yet," she said and could feel the awful red flushing her cheeks again.
"Let Maria take the plate and if you get hungry again, then you can grab some fresh food," Ryan said to her with a little chuckle. Nicole glared at him, snagged the muffin off the plate and reluctantly let his housekeeper take the rest away.
"Okay, I think it's time to have our chat now," Ryan told her. Nicole took a deep breath and got ready to beg. There was no one, other than her sister, who she'd lower herself for. Since she was more of a mother to Patsy than a sibling, she'd do whatever it took to make sure she'd be okay.
"Patsy has a rare heart disease requiring surgery but her insurance doesn't cover it. They say it's an elective surgery and yet if she doesn't get it, she won't survive to her seventeenth birthday," Nicole said in a rush. She was fighting tears, even speaking of the thought of losing Patsy. She loved her so much and she was supposed to take care of her. She was supposed to be the one who made sure she didn't get sick and now Patsy was barely hanging on. The thought of it nearly destroyed Nicole.
"So you need to borrow money?" he asked her. He leaned back in his chair and was looking at her like she was a piece of meat he was about to devour. She had to fight not to glare at him.
"It's killing me to borrow money from you. I just need someone to pay her surgery costs. I'll get a new job right away and pay every dime of it back," she said stubbornly. She couldn't tell from his expression if he was going to do it or not. The waiting was killing her a bit more inside.
Ryan felt an immense satisfaction to have her sitting before him. It made up slightly for those years of pain he'd gone through. No other girl had ever come close to holding his attention like she had.
"What are you willing to do for me if I do this?" he asked her coldly.
"I … I don't understand," she stuttered.
"Come on Nicole, you're so much smarter than this, or at least you used to be. Money means nothing to me. I can pay the bill without it even placing a dent in my wallet so I don't need, nor want you to pay me back," he told her in a smug tone of voice.
"What do you want?" she asked him, far too afraid of the answer he may give. He smiled at her and her stomach clenched. She was terrified of what was going to come out of his mouth next. What if the thing he wanted wasn't possible for her to give? If it was within her power, then of course she would do it but she couldn't figure out what he could possibly want from her - she had absolutely nothing.
Ryan knew he was going straight to hell but he didn't care. He wanted her and now he had the chance to get what he wanted. He would get from her what he wanted and when he was finished he'd walk away. Then maybe he wouldn't feel the ache. She would never know he'd already arranged the surgery and had Patsy moved the night before.
She didn't know that even if she walked right out the door and told him to go to hell he'd still help Patsy. He'd loved the little girl when she was only a couple years old and toddling at his feet. He'd help her without requiring anything. But on the other hand why not get something out of Nicole if he could. He looked straight into her eyes so there would be no chance of a misunderstanding.
"I want you in my house, in my bed, at my beck and call. You'll be here for me night and day for whatever I need until I'm bored with you. Then I'll set both you and Patsy up in a decent place since apparently you're homeless at the moment and have nowhere for her to recover," he told her. He added the last part to drive home her desperate need of his help.