Page 45 of Raw Deal

“Mia will be okay for a few minutes.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “Sometimes a mommy and a daddy need alone time.”

Dirty thoughts filled her mind. “What for?”

“This.” He kissed her on the forehead. “And this.” He placed another kiss on her cheek. “And especially this.”

His mouth covered hers in a full-on kiss that stole her breath. Dizzy, she clung to his shoulders. The kiss started off passionate and grew from there to a point where they both simultaneously tugged on the other’s clothing. Almost instantly, they seemed to remember where they were at the same time.

“Sorry,” he said against her lips. “I shouldn’t start something we can’t finish. Although this house has a lot of empty bedrooms.”

“Nikolas!” He couldn’t be serious. “We need to be available if Mia needs us.”

“I think she’ll be okay with my mom for a while, and Roger is probably having tea with them. He won’t let Mom do anything that might hurt Mia’s feelings.”

Having sex in his mother’s house after the way the woman had treated her sparked a naughty urge inside of Chloe. Should they? Could they? He was right about the rooms, and it had been quite a while since they had sex. That meant it wouldn’t take long to achieve their end goal.

Chloe shook her head. “We can’t. If Mia gets upset, she’ll want us. She doesn’t know your mother. Sometimes she gets scared and needs her mommy.”

Nik took a few steps and looked around the library. His expression turned wistful. “I used to come in here to hide.”

“When you were playing?”

“No. I hid from my father when he was angry.”

She swallowed. “You barely talk about your father. Controlling. I think that’s the word you used to describe him once.”

With a grim twist to his lips, he said, “Believe it or not, my mother was the better parent. I was afraid of him as a child. All he did was yell.”

Chloe snapped her fingers. “That’s why you were so upset about yelling in front of Mia.”

“I don’t want to be anything like him. He was a terrible father, cold and distant. I was afraid of him when I was a little boy, and I resented the hell out of him when I was a teenager. I don’t ever want Mia to feel that way about me.”

“She won’t.” Chloe glanced at her watch. “Let’s join the tea party.”

He groaned. “Okay. I give. Let’s go.”

“Mia and I have to be on the plane home tomorrow. Do you need to stay here for a few more days to work?”

He shook his head as they crossed through the foyer. “I already have Phillip working on the things that need to be done. I’ll be on the plane with you.”

“Are you sure?”

“I still have a house to move into, and you’re going to help me.”

She blinked. “How can I help you with that?”

He didn’t want her to actually move furniture, did he?

“I’m relying on your good taste,” he said. “I need you to help me decorate it, especially Mia’s room. You know what she likes.”

She frowned. “You want me to decorate your house? Don’t rich people hire expensive interior decorators?”

“You’re missing the point. I am hoping it won’t just be my house, but also yours. If you and I decide to stay married, you should move in. Live in the house even when I’m not there.”

She sighed. “We already went over this, and I like my house.”

He rolled his eyes. “I saw how you looked at the new kitchen I had set up for you. You’re just being stubborn. I know you have a lot of pride and don’t want charity. That isn’t what this is. I need to take care of my child financially. Think about it like that.”

So what he was saying was that she wasn’t an important part of the equation. He planned on financing his daughter’s life. Since Chloe was the mother, she was part of the package. Not exactly romantic. The thought filled Chloe with tension.

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