Nick rolled up his shirt sleeves again while looking around. He'd been trying to hire a moving truck all week, but Valeria hadn't let him, arguing that his truck was more than enough. And seeing that there were only enough boxes for two trips in the truck, Nick realized that the girls really didn't have much stuff. “That’s it, we’ll get another box in and on the next trip I'll take the rest,” he said to Valeria, and the girl shrugged. “On the next trip we can all go,” she murmured, hanging on his neck to kiss him. “I'll be back soon.” Nick gave her a gentle spank before leaving, and Valeria smiled watching him get off. It was strange to see him so happy after always seeming angry. But the last week had been simply wonderful. They would sneak into any corner of the company and kiss like two teenagers. Not even forty minutes had passed when Valeria heard the door open again. “How did you come back so fast—” But when she turned around she found a face she wasn't expecting. “Alan?”

That Nick was a possessive man didn't surprise her. After all, she was used to seeing him take things to extremes, but that she was turned on by the way he was possessive of her, now that she hadn't expected. “I think... I think I'd better go...” she barely murmured. “Do you want to go, Val?” he asked, his voice full of innuendo. “Why?” “Because you woke up too sexy and I woke up too weak. And if I don't leave now, I'll end up doing what I swore and swore I wouldn't do!” she answered, feeling her legs turning to Jell-O. “And what would that be, Valeria?” asked Nick, resting a forearm on the door, over her head, and leaning over her. “You know what it would be, because you'd be right on top of me!” she growled before giving him the most violent and quickest kiss ever and almost running out of his office. She really looked like she was going to fall over at any moment and her heart was pounding in her ears. What had that been? Why had Nick done that? It couldn't be just because he

Valeria looked at him as if he had gone mad. She didn't know whether to freak out or take him seriously. “Wait, Nick... is it for real? “Of course it's for real,” Nick assured her, caressing her face. “Don't you want to be my girlfriend, little troublemaker?” Valeria bit her lips and nodded. “Ummm... yes, I guess... I guess... yes...” “You guess, you guess!?” he smiled, pulling her close and kissing her passionately, not caring that they were in front of everyone. The boardroom cleared before they could realize it, and when they finally broke apart, it was just the two of them. “I'm so sorry,” said Nick, resting his forehead on Valeria's. “What they did... it was my fault.” “No, it wasn't.” “Of course it was, that was what I taught them. That's how I treated you—” “Nick!” she stopped him by shaking his coat. “Let's leave the past in the past. Besides, you are not responsible for other people's actions. Everyone here is an adult and they made their decision. You didn't douse m

Valeria was walking hand in hand with Alice as they toured her new school. She had been called out of the blue because her application had been approved, so she had taken the day to take the girl and see if she liked the school. But as they explored the facilities and Alice met other children, Valeria hadn't been able to stop thinking about Nick's jealousy after lunch with Andrew the day before. It was like he was back to being the old, cold, and ruthless Nick. And she definitely didn't like that. “Mom?” Alice walked over to the bench where Valeria had been sitting for a minute. “Yes, honey?” “I like it here. I really like it a lot,” said Alice with a twinkle in her eye that Valeria had never seen before. “Really, baby? Oh, I’m so happy! Well then, from tomorrow you'll be attending classes here. It’s decided!” Valeria exclaimed, and Alice hugged her. “How do you want to celebrate?” “Umm… can we have lunch with Nick?” asked the girl, and Valeria nodded. “Sure, let's go.” They we

“We're leaving for the party! Now!” Valeria told him, trying to hold her laughter after Nick changed directions three times to avoid going to the gala. “You just want me to die of a heart attack!” said Nick. “Maybe, but first let's go to the party,” Valeria leaned into the passenger seat, not caring about the dress, and kissed him on the lips. “Well, let's go to the damn gala,” Nick conceded, but the truth was that he wanted to turn around and take her to his apartment once and for all. As every year, the twins were at the entrance to the hall welcoming all the guests, and if they were surprised that Valeria arrived clinging to Nick's arm, they didn't show it. The party was beautiful, the conversation was pleasant, and the champagne was flowing. The chiefs of design from Bennet Designs and from many other studios had been invited, so Valeria got even more caramelized with Nick as she watched Anna turn redder than her dress. But soon all her enthusiasm seemed to evaporate the ver

In other circumstances Nick would have run off with Valeria to the nearest hospital, but as soon as they had left the event hall, the girl's face had completely relaxed, and she never winced again as she watched him drive. So Nick didn't think twice about steering the car toward his apartment. He opened the passenger door and carried her in her arms again as they rode up in the elevator. He did his best to maintain control as they entered the apartment and placed her gently on the couch. He pulled off her heels, caressing her ankles and.... “I'll get some ice,” he whispered, going to the fridge and returning in a few seconds with a bag of ice gel. “Hold it for a moment.” He put the bag against Valeria's ankle and loosened his tie. Valeria watched him take it off and then take off his suit... and swallowed hard, feeling the tickle building in her lower abdomen. “Are you in a lot of pain?” Nick asked, closing his warm palm around her ankle. “What?” she replied, distracted. Nick le

Nick smiled when he saw her put on his shirt. It came almost to her knees and she looked like a beautiful little doll with it on. He had spent the whole night cuddled up against her body and was troubled by the fact that it was the best feeling he had had in a long time. He had very strong feelings for Valeria, but she was not an easy woman to handle. He saw her enter the room a few minutes later with two cups of fragrant coffee and sat down on the bed, taking his. Valeria gave him a short kiss on the lips and smiled. “Are you all right?” Nick asked, looking her up and down suggestively and letting his gaze linger between her legs. “You're a beast!” Valeria rolled her eyes, and Nick tried not to spit out his coffee with laughter. “Hey...! You can walk, so I'm not that.” He gently pulled her hand and cuddled her when she sat on his lap. “And why do you ask? Do you want to repeat?” she provoked him. “Definitely! You're what the doctor ordered. Every eight hours, every day. “Do you

“I think I'd better go...” Miranda murmured in a soft voice as she stood up. “Yes, you'd better leave.” “Valeria!” Nick gave her an ugly look, and Valeria shot him an angry glare. Miranda Jones left that office knowing that she had accomplished half of her goal. She might not know how to make Nicholas Bennet fall in love with her again, but she knew all his demons and knew exactly how to use them against him. She headed for the elevator, and her smile expanded when she ran into Anna before she got there. The woman beckoned her into her office. “You're all smiley,” Anna told her. “I left Nicky and Valeria fighting in the main office, so yes, I'm very happy,” Miranda replied. “Do you want to keep it that way?” Anna asked, and Miranda leaned forward in her chair. “Of course.” “Do you think they'll be fighting long enough?” “Yes, why?” Miranda asked curiously. “Because if you use your time and influence well, I can help you make Valeria Williams disappear from Mr. Bennet's life..

It must have been maybe three in the morning when Nick heard his cell phone ring and answered it. For the first time in a couple of weeks he was sleeping in his own apartment since things with Valeria weren't going well enough to ask her to stay with her. It had been five days since Valeria's fourth collection had been released to the public by Steven Harris, and since then, she hadn't taken her head off the desk and the sketch folder, trying to design a new collection so that the delivery to Davies wouldn't be too late. “Hello? “Nicky!?” Miranda's voice sounded tearful and desperate on the other end. “Miranda?” he looked at the time and sat up in bed. “Are you okay? How can I help you?” “I don't know…” the woman sobbed. “I'm at the hospital, they just brought daddy in and he doesn’t look well...” “But what happened to him?” Nick asked her. “They think it's a heart attack, and they say his heart stopped... I'm so scared, Nicky! “Tell me what hospital you're in.” “No... don't c

Nick's face became a mask of coldness as he looked at the memory Valeria had placed in his hand. “What is this?” he growled at her. “These are the recordings from the security cameras in the hallway to my office.” “Who gave this to you, Valeria?” Nick roared. “Did you allow Andrew Davies access to my office security?” “I didn't allow anything!” she answered equally angry. “And your offices don't have any security! Andrew got the recordings. He didn't tell me how and I didn't ask him. But I accepted them even if they came from him because he seems to be the only one who cares about what happened.” “Do you think I don't care?” Nick said, visibly irritated. “So you did do your research?” Valeria questioned him. “You know what's on those recordings and you didn't say anything? You didn't do anything?” Nick frowned uncomprehendingly. “IT said that those recordings were corrupted. That someone erased ten minutes of the recording from the camera in your office—” “Yes, but they didn't