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He leaned back, staring at the Christmas tree with his brow furrowed.
“What?” she queried.
“I promised myself I wasn’t going to talk to you about the will today.”
Deidre chuckled. “It just goes to show you how money and power has a way of intruding into any situation.”
He met her gaze. Her smile faded when she registered his expression.
“I don’t accept that,” he said before he leaned over and captured her mouth again in a blistering kiss. She whimpered as his consumption continued. Their mouths fused, tongues and lips moving together in a warm, liquid friction. Her hand found its way to his collar where she delved her fingers through his thick hair. She loved the feeling of it so much, she let her other hand join in the pleasure. He groaned, low and rough, when she scraped his scalp with her fingernails. Deidre grasped his head, holding on for dear life as desire coiled tight inside of her. Nick’s words—and her own internal conflict—warred in the background of her increasing arousal.
This whole thing has been messy from the start. Maybe we ought to embrace that fact instead of run from it.
If it should ever come to any kind of legal action, it would have nothing to do with you personally.
She thought of all the bonds of love and friendship that had been torn asunder when the Itani and Reyes families had taken Brigit to court following the accident Derry had caused. Deidre had left Harbor Town by that time, but Marc had conveyed the brutal, heart-wrenching details to her. Courtrooms could become emotional battlefields.
She moaned, miserable at the idea of breaking contact with Nick. She did it anyway.
“What?” he asked, his voice rough and sexy.
“I don’t know what the right thing to do is,” she whispered.
She hated how his gaze became shuttered. Desire didn’t soften Nick, necessarily—in fact, his body and focus seemed to tighten beyond their typical readiness for action. What desire did to Nick was open him, invite her to enter and relish the pleasure of an attractive, complex man. Seeing him start to withdraw from her again, even slightly, hurt more than she’d expected.
She felt her grip on rationality slipping. He leaned down so that their faces were only inches apart. She inhaled the smell of soap and subtle, spicy cologne and felt her body respond.
“There’s not going to be a shooting star to tell you whether it’s right or wrong,” he said. “You have to trust me in this, Deidre.”
She swallowed thickly. Doubts assailed her, but his male scent dulled them. Her lips still felt tender and hot from his kisses, as if the nerve endings had been awakened and clamored for more pressure...more pleasure.
“You’re the chief executive officer of DuBois Enterprises. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t regret it tomorrow.”
“I’m a man, not a job. Like I said, there’s no way in hell I’ll ever regret making love to you.”
It was like standing on the edge of a cliff. Maybe she should have demurred, but her heart pounded with excitement.
And she was a diver, after all.
She gave a breathless consent.
Chapter Six
He moved so rapidly, so surely, Deidre realized he must have been waiting on a precipice of anticipation, as well. He stood, swept her into his arms and headed for the hallway. He ate up the space with a long-legged stride and kicked the door to the master suite open wide. Deidre smiled and laid her cheek next to his chest. His hastiness in the matter pleased her.
He set her on the edge of the bed. The light from the hallway spilled into the darkened room, letting her see his shadowed face. She waited, her heart starting to perform a drumroll on her breastbone.
He reached out and touched her cheek.
“Thank you for trusting me,” he said, his fingertips running over her jaw and neck, making her shiver.
“I could say the same of you,” she whispered.
For a few seconds, he stroked her and the silence seemed to press on her eardrums.
“You have the face of a rebel angel. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
“Thank you,” she mouthed soundlessly, stirred to her core by the rough gentleness of his voice.
