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She blushed again in embarrassment, rising out of her thoughts when she realized Nick had put the car in Park in the driveway of Cedar Cottage.
He reached into the backseat and withdrew a manila envelope. “I hope this doesn’t kill the mood,” he muttered, looking a little regretful.
“Is it the forms you need me to sign for the Vivicor acquisition?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“It’s not going to kill the mood,” she said, feeling guilty again when she recalled all the accusations she’d made yesterday about him using her to get her cooperation. She didn’t really believe that.
She didn’t want to believe it. Not when she was so attracted to Nick.
She gave him a reassuring smile before she reached for the car door latch. “Come on inside. I’ll make some decaf and we can look at the papers.”
“You can contact Abel Warren, Lincoln’s personal lawyer, and have him advise you before you sign,” Nick said half an hour later. He’d just given her an overview of the transaction. They sat on the sofa side by side, coffee cups on the table before them. Deidre held the necessary papers in her lap. “Abel is an impartial party. He’ll advise you just as he would have Lincoln.”
She met his stare, a pen poised in her hand. “Lincoln wouldn’t have asked Abel for advice on the matter. He would have trusted your decision. That’s why he hired you to run his company.”
His mouth flattened.
“Is there some reason I need impartial legal advice?” she asked slowly. “I’m just agreeing to an acquisition that will benefit DuBois Enterprises, right?”
Nick nodded, but his mouth remained tight. He suddenly reached over and grabbed the pen and packet of papers from her. He tossed them on the table.
“Nick, what are you—”
“I don’t want you to regret signing anything.” He put his arms around her, and she gazed up at him in amazement.
“I won’t regret it. You’ve served DuBois Enterprises faithfully for years. I trust you to make good business decisions,” she whispered, stunned by the focused heat in his eyes.
“Business can wait,” he said. “This can’t.”
He covered her mouth when she opened it to speak. She moaned when she came into contact with his heat. All the anticipation, all the desire that had been building in her since he’d looked down at her as she lay in bed yesterday sparked and flared high at his kiss.
His mouth felt hot and persuasive moving over hers. He altered the angle of his head and penetrated her lips with his tongue, his hunger a palpable thing. She melted beneath his bold claim, stroking him back eagerly, sliding her tongue against his, thrilling at the tension that sprung into his muscles. His kiss was so addictive that she made a muffled sound of protest when he ended it.
“I want you. A lot. I know I’m just stating the obvious,” he said next to her mouth, the sound of his ragged male desire sending a prickle of excitement through her.
“I want you, too,” she admitted, letting her lips slide against his, caressing, kissing, nibbling. “But maybe it’s a bad idea for us to give in to it? We’ll probably regret it.”
“How in the hell could I ever regret having you?”
Something jumped in her stomach at the sound of his disbelief mingling with stark desire. Nevertheless, she grasped at rational thought, trying to gird herself against his appeal.
“What if you ended up taking me to court?” she whispered, meeting his stare. “You do
n’t think it would be problematic that we’d previously slept together? Not exactly neat and clean.”
“This whole thing has been messy from the start. Maybe we ought to embrace that fact instead of run from it.”
She stared into his face, looking for some sign of what was the right thing to do in this situation. She saw nothing but a virile, attractive man who clearly desired her.
He leaned close. “I want you to understand something, Deidre. If it should ever come to any kind of legal action in regard to Lincoln’s will, it would have nothing to do with you personally and everything to do with the well-being of DuBois Enterprises. Are you certain you don’t want to learn the business?” he asked her intently.
“Yes. I can’t even imagine it, Nick.”
“That’s not certainty. That’s ignorance of the task at hand. You’re intelligent. You could learn. I could teach you.”
“Do I have to decide right this second? Shouldn’t we establish without a doubt whether or not I am Lincoln’s daughter?”
