Even as Bee made a face at being made to feel like a child, she nevertheless did as ordered and raised her arms so he could slid his shirt over her.
Nicholas stepped back to observe his handiwork and immediately regretted his choice. While her slender body was easily lost under his shirt, her breasts were large enough to have the fabric stretch tautly over her breasts.
So damn sexy.
He saw her nipples pebble against the thin layer of cotton, and the sight proved impossible to resist. Hauling her to him, he bent down and drew one cotton-covered nipple in and suckled hungrily.
She let out a whimper, and the sound had him giving her nipple a final, playful bite before he forced himself to let go once more.
Bee could feel herself reddening anew the wet, telltale mark his kiss had left on her shirt. “W-What if people see—”
“No one will see,” he soothed. “This whole wing’s mine.”
Bee wondered if she had heard him right, but in the end, all she said was, “If you’re really sure…”
“The first thing you should know about me,” he murmured, “is how possessive I can get.” As he spoke, his hand palmed her breast as if to emphasize his point, and his eyes glinted at the way her body automatically pressed closer to him. “There’s no fucking way in hell I’d let any other man see you like this.”
“I s-see.” With his hand still holding her breast, her voice came out a little breathless, and the sound had him smirking.
How arrogant he was, she couldn’t help musing, but for some reason, Bee also knew she wouldn’t want him in any other way.
By the time they finally made it to the kitchen, even Nicholas was feeling a little hungry and after explicitly ordering Tabitha to stay put on one of the counter stools and let him serve her, he went to work, frying up some bacon and making each of them a Spanish omelette.
And throughout it, he felt her fascinated gaze following him wherever he went, and when he finally set the plated dishes on the counter, he watched her entire face light up with a radiant smile.
Beautiful.
The thought came out of the fucking blue, and the raw force of attraction that followed right after had him sucking his breath.
She was too goddamn beautiful, and if he wasn’t careful, he might end up forgetting that their marriage was nothing but a sham.
Chapter 6
Contrary to Nicholas’ initial plans, it was well after dinner, and they were back in his bed, her tiny body curled in his arms, when he finally got her to speak of his past, and she somehow managed to make him do the same.
She told him everything, starting from the very beginning, when her world was small enough to be perfect, and all the way to the end, when she learned how life could so drastically change in a blink of an eye.
Hearing her voice shake as she told him of how her former boss had almost raped her had Nicholas yanking her close and tucking her head under his chin to keep her from accidentally glimpsing the cold rage in his eyes.
“I’ll never let anyone hurt you again. I promise you that.” And he meant to keep his word, regardless of how things would turn out in the future. He also meant to teach the asshole a lesson, but this one he kept to himself. He had a feeling that if Tabitha knew of his plans, she would only ask him to stop and let things be.
He felt her stir in his arms, and when he glanced down, she asked him hesitantly, “What about you? In all the months Danny and I had been exchanging emails, he’s only spoken of his life since he started living with you. He never—” Tabitha paused to cast him an uncertain look. “If you don’t want to talk about it, I totally understand—”
Nicholas’ lips twisted in an ironic smile. “Would you still wish to hear it, even if there’s nothing good to speak of?”
“I want to know everything about you,” she said simply.
The smile remained on his lips, but this time it no longer reached his eyes. “So be it then.” A stoic mask settled on his face as Nicholas’ mind reluctantly drifted back to the past.
He had been fifteen then, and like all boys in that age, he had been foolish, brash, and reckless. And with parents that saw no wrong in giving in to his every wish, Nicholas had believed the whole world was his to conquer.
When a girl two years older than him told Nicholas he had gotten her pregnant, he had told her carelessly he would pay her whatever was needed as long as she didn’t make the mistake of cramping his style.
When Carly had readily agreed, he had taken her acquiescence at face value, and because she had not pressured him at all to get involved, Nicholas had found himself actually enjoying all the perks of being a dad without having to suffer the lows.