The Tycoon's Proposal(17)

"I'll sleep where I want to," she stated right back at him.

"You're the most insufferable woman I've ever met in my life. Did you forget we have an agreement? Did you think I'd simply fork out a ton of my own money, set you up in my home and get nothing in return?" he demanded of her. She flinched at his words and the rage behind them.

"You got what you wanted last night," she finally spat at him, still humiliated she'd so easily caved into him. A shiver ran down her spine as she thought about the way she'd responded to him.

"I'll continue to get what I want and what I want is you in my bed every night, all night," he told her as he leaned down on the bed in front of her. She glared back at him, with her arms crossed against her chest. "Do you understand?" he asked her, only inches from her face.

"Yes," she spat, willing to say about anything to get him to back off and give her some breathing space. He smiled triumphantly and closed the space between them. She gasped in shock at the passion of the kiss and before she had time to react, he pulled away and walked from the room.

Nicole sat there trembling on the bed. She wasn't sure if she was relieved he'd left, or not. She couldn't deny she wanted him but that was natural, as she'd been head over heels in love with him at one of the darkest times in her life. She'd depended on him and needed him and she'd ended up having to let him go, for fear of him pitying her. There would've been nothing worse. 

She slowly got up and headed back to his room to find her clothing. It was mercifully in the closet. She looked at her few pathetic items and hung her head down. She'd been living with only a few outfits for as long as she could remember. Her sister's needs had been so much more important than her own. Patsy had never been aware of the sacrifices she'd made because there was no reason for her to know. Nicole was only doing what any sister should do in her circumstances.

Nicole made her way downstairs and headed straight for the food. She was once again starving and filled her plate. She ate a bit more than she had the day before but her stomach was still not used to having a full meal. There was a secure feeling in knowing she would have a warm meal in the morning. She would rather have that guarantee than a full dinner.

"We need to get going, so we can see Patsy before she's taken into surgery," Ryan told her. She stuffed the toast in her mouth and jumped up.

"I'm ready," she told him through her mouthful of food and walked toward the front door. Ryan followed her and they had a silent drive to the hospital. Nicole had to tell herself she was doing the right thing and nothing else mattered except for her sister getting better. It was hard to remember anything when she was in the small space with Ryan, though.

His scent invaded her senses and caused her stomach to tighten with need. Even when she was mad at him, she still wanted to be near him and she still wanted to feel his touch. She tried to convince herself she was simply exhausted and when her sister was better she wouldn't feel the pull toward him. She'd worried about everything for so long she needed some worry free days. Her body needed time to recharge itself.

Patsy was alert and nervous when they stepped into her room. It took a while for them to calm her down, especially considering Nicole was just as nervous as Patsy was. When they wheeled her into the surgery room Nicole couldn't say a word. She was close to bursting into tears.

"The surgery's going to take a couple of hours so why don't we go out to lunch. You need to get your mind off of what's going on," Ryan suggested as they walked towards the waiting area.

"No, I need to be here in case the doctor comes out," she said in almost a panic.

"We can stay, that's fine," he offered. They stepped through the doors and Nicole was dazed to find his family sitting in there. It was all of them, including his cousins, their spouses and both of his uncles. The women jumped up and immediately threw their arms around her, causing the tears she refused to let fall, come cascading down her cheeks. She was scared and very happy to let Jasmine and Trinity comfort her.

"What are you doing here?" she finally managed to ask them. After all, Patsy wasn't related to them. She was more than grateful for their presence, though.

"We couldn't let you go through this on your own," Jasmine said, as if she was crazy to think anything differently. Nicole was more than willing to accept their love and support and continued to cry all her fears into their arms.

Ryan found himself a third wheel and didn't like the feeling. He should be the one who she was turning to. It should have been his shoulder she was crying into. He wanted to kick himself when he had those thoughts because he normally hated clingy, emotional women and ran the second they behaved in that manner.