Shutting the door behind them, twisting the lock, he leaned against it and crossed his arms over his chest. Courtney walked to the center of the room, obviously trying to ignore him, but Nick could see her frame subtly trembling. His temples began to throb as she went to the bed where she picked up a robe, the only single item out of place in the entire room, and hung it in her closet. Then she moved to the bedside table and straightened the picture of her parents that was always kept there. When she continued to ignore him by moving to her chest of drawers and opening the top drawer, he'd had enough.
"Courtney," he demanded flatly.
She continued to fiddle with the contents of her drawer as if she were alone in the room.
"Courtney," he said again. "Look at me."
With an ostentatious show of reluctance meant to piss him off, she turned to face him. And it worked for a split second until he saw what lurked in her eyes. And then his temper died as his heart clenched. Need. Pure and simple. Need. For him. Knowing he wasn't the only one feeling anguish, he swallowed as his muscles relaxed a small bit. "Come on, baby. Let's go home."
Exhaling a sad sigh, she shook her head.
At her obstinate refusal, he attempted to temper both his voice and his impatience. "Sweetheart. We'll work this out, but we're going to need some privacy to do that."
"There's nothing to work out," she said softly, looking at the floor.
"Well, since you're my wife, I'm going to have to disagree."
Her eyes lifted. "That's not your choice, Nick. I get it a say in this."
Pissed now, he sucked in oxygen through gritted teeth. "No, I don't think you do."
Her eyes sharpened. "Don't be that way."
He ground his back teeth together as he braced his legs apart. "I'm losing patience here, so get anything you might need. I'm ready to go."
"I'm not going with you."
Every muscle in his body tightened again. "I believe you're mistaken."
Hesitantly, she shook her head.
Nick took a deep breath and tried not to lose it. He tried to remember that Courtney thought this was for his own good. She was wrong about that, but still, he needed to be gentle with her. Where the hell had he been when lessons on gentleness had been given? He gritted his teeth and attempted a calm tone. "Has it occurred to you that my mother obviously knows about us? She wants us to be together, babe. She loves you and wants to keep you in the family. She's smart. She probably figured out years ago that I had it bad for you. Why the hell do you think that I was the first person she called every damn time some kid started hanging around you when you were in Florida?" As he said the words, he realized he was only now beginning to understand the depth of his mother's past manipulations.
Nick straightened to his full height when Courtney's face paled. When she remained silent with a tightened face, as if she were digging her heels in, he pushed off the door and paced toward her. "We can play this a couple of ways," he threatened, pretty much losing patience entirely and looking for her immediate compliance. "You can grab some more stuff if you need it and come home with me where you belong, or I can stay here tonight," he paused for a moment. "With you. In this room." He let her absorb that statement before continuing, "Trust me, my mom would love it if that happened. She'd be pushing for a wedding in the morning, you know she would. You want that to happen?"
Her brows furrowed and her eyes began to swim with tears, a look of misery crossing her face. "Why are you doing this to me?"
He steeled his guts against her distress. Did she really think he was going to simply let her go? He wasn't going to lose her. He. Would. Not. Lose. Her. Unable to hide his feelings, he asked in a curt voice, "Are you kidding me? Why are you doing this to me?"
Pink highlighted her cheekbones. "You know why."
This time, it was Nick who shook his head. "You're not thinking straight. I'm tired of waiting. Get your stuff."
She stood completely still for a moment, looking dazed. "You wouldn't sleep in here with me," she dared. "Not with your mother in the house. It would be way too embarrassing. For all of us."
Nick locked his eyes on hers, fighting both arousal and temper. He knew she was trying to call his bluff, bless her baby heart. She needed to learn and she needed to learn now: He never bluffed. "Try me," he issued the challenge in a tone that demanded her instant capitulation.