Page 98 of Worth Every Penny
I look her over, pretending to assess her value. As I do, a hint of vulnerability appears in her gaze, and this no longer feels like a game.
“What am I worth to you, Nico?” she whispers. The arched eyebrow is gone, the taunting tone absent. The words might be the same, but the question feels different.
My heart gives an uncomfortable thud.
And then I tell her the truth. “You’re worth every penny I have. Every. Single. One.” I kiss her between each of the last words, but it’s only when she moves her hand to the back of my neck and deepens the kiss that I realise I haven’t told the full truth.
Kate Lansen is priceless.
29
KATE
Nico is sound asleep when I creep out of bed. We’ve been awake most of the night. It must be nearly dawn and I’ve lost count of how many orgasms I’ve had. He only has to breathe near me and I’m climaxing like a hormonal teenager.
My bag is on the bedroom floor near the door. Nico was right; I didn’t need to worry about it. God knows how it got here. Some rich person private jet luggage delivery service, no doubt.
The thick carpet is soft beneath my feet as I pick up my bag and head out into the large dining room. I’m naked aside from my panties, but the flat is warm so I don’t bother with the nightdress I packed.
I take a seat at one end of the dining table. It’s so big, it could comfortably seat fifteen people.
I take my laptop out and open it up. I have a meeting with David Webster about the spa project next week, and I really need to work. I don’t want to take my eye off the ball for a second, and God knows, Nico is enough of a distraction to derail the entire thing. I won’t be able to fully relax until this spa is up and built and I can sit in the sauna and sweat in real time.
The computer boots up and I check my documents. Spreadsheets. Financial projections. Development costs. I have everything here.
I sit quietly, for I don’t know how long. I get so absorbed in my work that time seems to pass at double speed.
“What are you doing?”
I turn to see Nico leaning against the doorframe. My breath steals from my lungs. He’s naked. Perfect. His skin, golden, his shoulders broad, muscular torso tapering to his hips. And his dick, just there. Casual. Like this situation between us is normal. It’s practically domestic.
For years, I longed for this… for him to be mine. That we might share this level of intimacy. That I could be the woman who gets to see him like this. But now that it’s happening, it feels too good to be true. An ache stirs in my chest, almost akin to sadness. Like I’m afraid it won’t last. Can’t last.
I force the thought away.
“Working,” I reply.
Nico rubs at one eye with the heel of his hand and pads across the floor towards me. “Fuck me. You’re working? I thought you’d run away.”
My heart squeezes at the candour in his statement, and the urge to reassure him bubbles up. “I told you, I’m not going anywhere.”
He places his hand on the back of my chair and leans over me to see the screen of my laptop. “What’s this?”
I scoot back so he can get a proper view and show him the 3D designs I did for the spa. It’s far beyond what my role requires, but I learnt to use the software so I could fully express my vision for the project.
An expression of intense concentration settles on his face, his handsome features tinged blue by the light of the screen as he leans in. “Wow. This is great. You did these designs?”
I nod and pull out the papers I brought and hand them to him. “I sketched everything before I put it into digital format.”
Nico flicks through the sheets, making the tendons at his wrists, the muscles in his forearms, tense and relax in a sensual sequence, and I watch in fascination. Seeing him focus on my work while he’s completely naked makes my heart flutter.
He blows out a breath. “I’m seriously impressed. You should move into design. Interior design. Architectural design?”
“I’m not trained.”
“Fuck that. We have a whole department—”
“Nico.” He snaps his mouth shut. “Let me see this project through before you start micromanaging my career.”