Page 28 of A Reclusive Heart

Maybe he should head downstairs to the hotel bar and pick up a woman. No, he couldn’t do that since there was absolutely no way that he was going to last that long. The damn woman had him panting and ready to burst and she hadn’t even touched him.

“Are you okay?” Jamie asked, moving to take a step closer as she ran her eyes over him, looking concerned.

“Great. Fine. Never been better,” Nick said quickly as he ushered her towards the door, making sure to keep the magazine firmly in place. “I’ll look over your computer and get it back to you tomorrow,” he said, opening the door and pretty much shutting it in her face.

“Okay, goodnight,” he thought he heard her mutter, but didn’t really care.

He dropped the magazine, reached down and undid his pants and had himself in hand as he quickly made his way to thebathroom. He slapped his hand against the wall above the toilet, closed his eyes, and thought about Jamie’s face. Never in his life had he been this turned on by a woman and he sure as hell never pictured a woman’s face while he jerked off. Now, he couldn’t help but moan as the image of her sweet face caused his balls to tighten. He didn’t even finish the second stroke before his legs threatened to give out and a long groan escaped him.

“Jamie,” he heard himself growl in ecstasy.

He dropped his hand away and flushed the toilet, panting as he stumbled back away from the toilet, wondering what the hell was happening to him. She shouldn’t be affecting him like this. He didn’t want her. Okay, that was bullshit.

Heshouldn’twant her.

She was his responsibility and definitely not his type, but he couldn’t help but like the idea of holding her in his arms and kissing her, something he didn’t usually like but did to get a woman to spread. With Jamie, he just wanted to kiss the little recluse. His arms actually ached from the urge to hold her.

This was so damn wrong. If he didn’t need J.L. Lewis so damn much, he’d either walk away or fuck her to get her out of his system, but he did. J.L. Lewis was the key to his success. Once he was done with her, no one would care that he was the bastard raised by whores. He was going to make a name for himself, but he needed her to do it and sleeping with her would only screw up his plans.

He was going to have to keep his damn hands to himself and his dick in his pants around her. It didn’t matter how much he wanted her because he wanted what J.L. Lewis could give him a hell of a lot more.

CHAPTER 15

“You know what?” Jamie said, trying to pull away from Nick, but the big jerk wouldn’t let her go. “I’ve changed my mind. Having sex is overrated. I’m more than happy to remain a virgin.Very happy,” she stressed as he ignored her and dragged her into the store.

As soon as the door closed behind them with a soft chime, he pushed her in front of him where she got her first look inside a lingerie store. There was lace and silk in every color and style imaginable and she had absolutely no idea what to buy, how to figure out her size, and in some cases, how to wear the tiny contraptions. This was all wrong. She might be passably pretty now, but she was in no way sexy enough to wear any of the pretty things in front of her. It was flannel pajamas for her, Jamie decided as she tried to make a run for the door, but the infuriating man wouldn’t let her go.

“Behave,” Nick whispered as a pretty redhead in a sexy silk camisole and short skirt walked over to them. She ran an assessing eye over Jamie, barely biting back a frown before her eyes shifted to Nick and widened with pleasure right along with a coy smile.

“May I help you?” she asked Jamie, but her eyes were on Nick.

“That would be great,” Nick said in that deep, sensual voice he used on everything female. Well, every female except for her, Jamie thought with a small sigh as she tried to make another run for it, but he wouldn’t let her go.

The woman’s smile became knowing as she sent Nick a welcoming look. Did the woman not see her? For all she knew, Jamie could be his girlfriend, his fiancée, or his wife. Okay, that was really pushing it, but still…

“My friend could use some help if you have a moment?” Nick said, placing his hands firmly on her shoulders to keep her in place. Why wouldn’t he just let her run away?

The woman reluctantly looked at her and did a wonderful job of pulling back her frown. With a slight nod, she gestured for Jamie to follow her. When she just stood there, Nick gave her a gentle shove in the woman’s direction and forced her to move her butt. She shot him a glare over her shoulder, but of course, he just ignored her and kept pushing her towards a whole new level of embarrassment.

They followed the redhead into a back-fitting room decorated in pastel colors that consisted of several oversized chairs, mirrors, and three changing rooms. She watched as Nick walked over to one of the chairs and sat down and thought that perhaps she should do the same thing when the saleswoman began manhandling her.

“Hey!” Jamie gasped when she wrapped a measuring tape around her chest. Before she could shove the woman’s hands away, she measured Jamie’s stomach, hips, and one thigh, leaving her blushing and irritated. Of course, she decided to take her irritation out on Nick by sending him a glare, but he was already busy reading a magazine, so she gave up glaring at him and tried to figure out how she was going to get out of this.

Apparently, she wasn’t.

“What are you interested in?” the saleswoman asked.

Jamie opened her mouth to tell her anything flannel when Nick answered for her. “Soft colors and nothing too bold,” he said in a bored tone.

“Virginal?” the woman asked, making Jamie groan.

“Yes,” Nick said in that same bored tone as he continued reading.

“I’ll see what I have,” the woman said, throwing Nick one last look of longing before she reluctantly left the room.

Jamie opened her mouth to tell Nick that if he was bored that he could darn well go wait in the car while she did this, but the saleswoman chose that moment to walk back into the room carrying a huge selection of silk and lace. Something about the woman’s flushed cheeks told her that she probably ran around the store and grabbed anything and everything she could get her hands on so that she could come back to ogle Nick. For his part, Nick just sat there, thumbing through a fashion magazine.

“Try these on and we’ll see what we have to work with,” the woman said, shoving several items in Jamie’s arms and absently gesturing for her to go change.

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