"What time is it?"
"About two."
"I should be going."
She tried to get up but he held her.
"Stay awhile longer," he murmured.
She looked at him through drowsy eyes, then settled back onto his chest with a sigh.
"We could go into the bedroom," he said. "You could stay the rest of the night."
Abbey sat up, shaking her head. "I can't. I should go. My friend is waiting."
Nick frowned. What friend? He felt a small stab in the base of his stomach. Not Tarken, the idiot from dinner?
"Lucy," she said, as if reading his thoughts. She glanced over at the window. "She'll be waiting for me."
"Oh." He extricated himself from her and stood. Fool. Don't forget who she is. What she is. She'd replaced one pimp with another, a woman this time.
And he was an idiot to have forgotten what the arrangement was. He'd been carried away in the heat of the moment, the passion, thinking this was more than it actually was. But it was sex. Just sex.
He looked down at Abbey. She was already dressed in her bra and skirt and she was holding her torn thong, a piece in each hand.
She glanced up at him, her eyes glistening, a smile twitching her lips. "Guess I need to buy another one."
Nick's first instinct was to smile back at her, but he shoved any thoughts of humor from his mind. She was hinting that she needed more money than just two nights worth. Or was it three, since they'd actually done it three times now?
He bent, picked up his pants and pulled the wallet out of the back pocket. He opened it and glanced down at Abbey as she sat on the couch. Her blue eyes stared back at him expectantly. He turned away. He couldn't look at her, not when she pulled that innocent face on him. It was all he could do to stop himself from kissing her again.
"How much?"
She didn't say anything, so he was forced to look at her. Her eyes narrowed and her brow puckered. "What are you talking about?" she asked.
Nick took out a hundred dollar note. "One hundred? Two hundred? I have no idea what these things cost."
His voice sounded angry, even to him, but that was too bad. It was how he felt. Cheated somehow, but he wasn't sure why.
Abbey's jaw dropped and her eyes suddenly widened to the size of satellite dishes. She stood, fully clothed now, and glared back at him. He suddenly felt very ill, sickened by what he'd done. This was not like him. He'd never done anything so drastic and so foolish in his life. He did not like it.
"Three hundred?" he asked gruffly.
He was peering into his wallet so he didn't see the hand coming. Her slap stung his cheek.
His head snapped up and he resisted the urge to grab her hand to stop her doing it again. It wasn't dignified. Whatever was wrong, he could sort it out with some clear level-headed thinking.
"What the hell was that for?" he shouted. Fuck level-headedness. Nick Delaware had never been slapped in his life, and certainly not by a hooker!
"For treating me like something on a supermarket shelf." She turned away and rounded the couch. She was heading toward the door.
"Abbey!" She didn't stop. Nick ran after her and grabbed her arm. "Abbey, where are you going?"
"None of your damn business. Besides, what do you care? I'm just a cheap hooker you bought for a couple of nights, aren't I?"
Nick blinked down at her. He shrugged. "Well, I don't think three hundred dollars is cheap, but I admit I don't really know—"
This time he saw the slap coming and he caught her hand. She tried to pull free but he held her firmly. Their eyes locked in unspoken battle. After glaring at each other for several heartbeats, he let go.
"Abbey, calm down. What's the problem?"
"You! I'm not a hooker, Damien."
Nick flinched at the name. "Stop calling me that, please. And what do you mean you're not a hooker?"
Abbey shook her head and flung her arms in the air. "What does it sound like it means? I'm-not-a-hooker. Is that clear enough?"
Nick took a step back and drew his brows together. "Then, why are you here?"
She turned away so he couldn't see her face. She took a step toward the door, but there was no way he was going to let her go after that revelation without an explanation. He caught her arm.
He thought he had the situation all figured out. He thought he had Abbey all figured out, but now nothing was what it seemed anymore. And he was a man who liked everything out in the open. No surprises, no secrets. He wanted to know who he was dealing with at all times, and that included now, with Abbey. If that was in fact her real name.
"Abbey," he said softly. He drew her to him. "If you're not a hooker—"
"Which I'm not."
Nick nodded. "Which you're not, then what's going on?"
Abbey shook her head and Nick felt his blood begin to heat up. "Tell me."
"You don't need to know."
"The hell I don't!" I've just slept with you—more than once—I think I have a right to know who, and what, you are."
"We agreed this was just sex," she said through gritted teeth. She pulled her arm out of his grip. "No strings attached. Two consenting adults. Remember?"
Her glare dared him to deny it.
He wanted to. He wanted to tell her how much he'd liked it. How much he liked her company. How much he wanted to see her again. But he couldn't. She may not be a hooker, but he still had no idea what she wanted from him. Until she told him, he wasn't going to give her an inch. This was just like closing a business deal—never let the opposition see all your cards at once. It paid to keep something back until they revealed all of theirs.
"Yeah," he said casually. "It was just sex. Is that what you wanted to hear?"
Apparently not because she emitted a low growl, then reached for the door handle.
But Nick wasn't ready to let her go yet. He wanted answers. He placed a hand against the door beside her head, slamming it closed again. Abbey swung round. She was trapped between the wall and his arm. Good. Maybe now he could reason with her.
"Let me out or I'll scream."
He smiled down at her. "Go ahead."
She screwed up her nose, closed her eyes and opened her mouth. Hell, she really was going to scream! He did the first thing that came into his mind—he kissed her. Hard and deep. He took her face in his hands and rubbed his thumbs along her cheeks, gently. She groaned and he thought he had her. He thought she'd succumb to his kiss. Maybe she'd stay with him a while longer, tell him everything he wanted to know. Everything he needed to know.
But he was wrong. Abbey stopped kissing him and pushed away. Her eyes glowed up at him like two blue flames. "You're an ass**le, do you know that? You think everyone should bow to your whim, especially women. Well, I've got news for you, Buddy. I hate arrogant men. You can't order people around and you can't make women do what you want them to do with a kiss."
She spun round and opened the door. Nick swallowed. He had to think, but he couldn't. His brain was failing him, for the first time in his life.
"Abbey," he said softly, "don't go."
She swung round again. "And don't think that a few gently spoken words are going to work either, because they don't." She sniffed. "Not on me anyway."