Wife for a Week(33)

She was still tender, still a little sore from this morning’s lovemaking. What if Nick took it into his head to, you know, soothe her? She’d be lost. Possibly begging. Hell, she was close to begging already and she was only thinking about it. ‘No top to tail.’ She tried to make her voice sound firm, had the sneaking suspicion she’d just done a halfway decent Marilyn Monroe impersonation.

‘Why not?’ he said.

‘Because I’m a lot shorter than you, that’s why, and I might, ah, move down the bed somewhat. Especially if you’re pulling the sheets that way. I might not end up next to feet at all.’

‘You’re right.’ His eyes darkened. ‘Top to tail is definitely out.’ He didn’t look amused any more, he looked…dangerous. ‘I guess will-power will have to do.’ He came over to her then, came right over to the bed and tucked the sheet firmly around her. ‘Get some sleep,’ he ordered, and leaned forward just enough to set his lips to hers for a kiss that would have been chaste but for the tip of his tongue that went skittering across her upper lip.

It was enough. More than enough given where her thoughts had been to have her gasping in helpless delight and clenching the sheets to keep her hands from reaching for him. But her body arched towards him anyway, ached for him, and Nick knew it did, dammit. And groaned for the both of them.

‘Stop it,’ he muttered. ‘Stop me. We are not doing this. I have too much work to do.’

‘Then go do it,’ she whispered, closing her eyes tightly as if maybe, somehow, if she didn’t see him he’d be easier to resist.

It was a long time before she fell asleep.

Even longer before Nick finally went to bed.



Hallie woke the following morning snuggled into Nick’s side with her head on his shoulder and a hand at his waist. She lay perfectly still, her brain trying to figure the best way to extricate herself from his embrace while her body wondered why she would ever want to, her body being more than happy to stay right where it was. But that wasn’t the point. The point was that she and Nick had decided lovemaking was out and it was going to take a joint effort to stick to that agreement. If either of them weakened they were both lost; it was as simple as that.

Hallie held her breath as she eased her hand from his waist and started to inch away from him, watching his face for any signs of waking, but he was sound asleep. There were shadows under his eyes that made him look vulnerable, shadows along his jaw that made him look dangerous. And a strength in his face that called to her even as she railed against it. What was it about this man that made him so hard to resist?

Because it wasn’t his face and it wasn’t his body, although both were gorgeous. No, it was something far more intrinsic than that, something that called to her very soul. And made it tremble. She backed up some more, felt the edge of the bed with her toes. Almost there. One foot on the floor and now the other as she eased her body from the mattress and stood up. Mission completed.

But she’d taken the sheet with her, which left her with a new problem. To cover Nick up again or not to cover. He didn’t look cold. No goose-bumps on that gloriously sculpted chest. She made the mistake of letting her gaze travel down his body and swallowed hard at the substantial bulge beneath his boxers. Never mind if he was cold or not, she needed him covered up. She gathered up the sheet and was just about to float it over his body when some sixth sense made her glance up at his face.

He was awake, watching her through slitted eyes, with a smile on his face and an invitation in his eyes that was practically irresistible. ‘Going somewhere?’ he said.

Hallie dropped the sheet and took a hasty step backwards, almost falling over her feet in the process. ‘I, ah, I thought I’d get up early and go down and see if Jasmine needs a hand with the New Year’s Eve preparations.’

Nick’s smile deepened. ‘Good of you,’ he said.

‘Yes, well, things to do.’ Hallie smiled brightly as her heart pounded and her skin tingled at the sound of his sleepy, sexy rumble. With one last wayward glance for the dazzling display of blatant masculinity spread out in front of her she fled to the bathroom before temptation and Nicholas Cooper’s smile got the better of her.



With Nick and John at John’s offices and Kai away arranging crab analysis, Hallie and Jasmine got down to the serious business of decorating the house for the forthcoming New Year. There were oranges to stack into small pyramids with incense on either side as offerings to the ancestors, beautiful red envelopes to stuff with crisp new money as gifts for friends and relatives, and exquisite paper lanterns to light up the terrace come nightfall. There was grain to offer the Rooster, for it was his year, and he must be made welcome. There were horoscopes to consult. Nails to paint a bright, bold red, and the services of a hairdresser to arrange for later in the day.