Crude Heir (Billionaire Heirs #3)

Chapter 6

Derrick

Her eyes pop open as soon as she sees the notification, and she loses all signs of sleep.

“Damn it!” she says out loud. It’s nice to know Little Nikki isn’t always sweet. She glances at the lower right-hand corner then clicks on the link to export the data from the payment software.

“That’s not going to happen.” I flip over to the permissions and shut her down.

A few seconds later, the spreadsheet comes up, but it’s only the outline on the screen. The sheet flickers as the system tries to push the information into the format she requested. “No, no, no,” she says, with all the enthusiasm of a sports fan watching their favorite team drop the ball right before scoring the winning touchdown.

Her cheeks turn pink. “Derrick, you…” I raise an eyebrow, waiting to see what she comes up with. Even now, I can only imagine her covered in hearts, little birds flying around her like some cartoon princess. “Argh! Screw you and the megabyte you rode in on.”

My laughter bursts out at the curse from that sweet mouth. Seems Nikki has a temper after all.

I hesitate, thinking about next steps. Do I close the link? It takes less than a second to scrap that idea and decide to engage. The temptation to see this side of her is too much. I switch to the messenger and type out the beginning of the conversation.

I was hoping to catch you before the system kicked you out.

She clenches her jaw, glaring at the screen. Too late, she replies, hitting the Enter key so hard I can hear the slam through the microphone. I’m liking this side of her.

Let’s see, what can I tell her that she can’t readily verify?

Trouble on the West Coast. The system locked up on them so I’m going to have to reset the server and do some troubleshooting on the back end.

That should be enough to get her to understand this isn’t going to happen tonight. I actually let her go on a lot longer than I’d originally planned to. I can chalk that up to the bank heist I have going on in the game. I look up in time to see a car rear-end the hijacked ambulance, sending it over the side of a mountain and burst into flames.

Nicole cocks her head. Oh.

Let’s see what she’ll say if questioned. Did you get to clear out the invoices you needed?

She bites the corner of her lip, causing the other side to form a little loop. Whatever she uses on her lips leaves them with a light, glossy sheen. What would she taste like if I sucked on that full lip? The thought flashes through my head, bringing me up short. This is supposed to be a hunting expedition, and here I am wondering what it would be like to taste her.

I got a lot done, she types out then hesitates before she hits enter. So, she isn’t exactly comfortable with the lie. She leans in and immediately follows up on the message. I was in the middle of reviewing overall cost on an AFE, but the download got stuck.

Why would she be doing that when she claimed she was trying to kick out work for a check run? You may end up losing that.

Her shoulders slump.

That’s the issue they’re dealing with.

Her lids fan down, and her eyes go unfocused for a moment before she goes back to typing. Well, at least it was one AFE I lost and not everything.

I’m not an accountant, but what she’s doing doesn’t look right. Snippets from the conversation with Addler echo in my head. Shit like this happens all the time. You just don’t hear about a lot of them because the company doesn’t want the bad press.

Is she up to something underhanded? It’s fate, Nicole. You’re supposed to go to bed.

She smiles at the screen. Damn, she looks pretty. What’s going through her mind? She shakes her head, losing the expression before going back to typing. I suppose you’re right. What about you? How long are you going to be stuck fixing this?

She looks tired yet determined. Is she planning on staying up to keep doing what she’s trying to hide? Well, I’m not going to give her the chance. It’ll be at least a few hours.

She presses her lips tightly, and I find myself annoyed at the fact the full bottom lip is flattened. I almost preferred it when she was cursing at me. What the hell?

So I won’t be able to log on? That’s exactly what she was planning to do.

I don’t plan to stay up all night watching her go through totals. So if she can’t do it at work, she shouldn’t be doing it at home. You’ll have to make do with the extra hours you already got.

Her lids fan down, and she gives a heavy sigh. Okay. I’ll go ahead and call it a night. Thanks!

I close the chat and reach for up the controller to restart the game. It picks up with a scene where I’m on a suspension bridge, racing along, with the siren going full blast.

The view from Nikki’s camera changes, focusing on her chest. A smile tugs at my lips at the scene she’s inadvertently providing. She set her laptop on the bed with an amused chuckle. Is she talking to someone? Watching television? I strain to listen to what may be happening in the background.

The light turns off, catching my attention. The room’s in shadow, and Nikki walks back into the screen, heading to bed. In one quick move, she pulls her top over her head and drops it somewhere off camera. I do a double take as she exposes her tanned skin to the camera, oblivious of the fact she’s being watched. Damn, she’s got a nice rack.

She puts her hand to her mouth, stifling a yawn. Her breasts rise with her intake of breath, pressing against the lace along the edge of the bra. She reaches behind her, and I go still. This wasn’t what I intended, but as the lace that was hugging her so tight falls away, I forget about the shots fired on the other screen. “Well, hell.”

Hooking her thumbs into the top of the loose shorts she’s wearing, she pushes them down. I’m mesmerized, watching the black material go past her waist, over nicely rounded hips, down smooth tanned thighs…

My mouth goes dry as she steps out of her clothes and slips into the sheets next to me—next to the laptop, not wearing a stitch. I shift on the couch, needing to relieve the sudden tightness across my crotch.

Any decent guy would flip off the camera. He’d leave her to sleep in the privacy of her room, despite how his dick is swelling in his jeans. But as she brings her hands up to her breasts, I’m suddenly glad I’m a class-A bastard.

Her fingers spread out, covering the delectable mounds. I don’t know how she manages to do it, but her chest doesn’t look that size when I see her at work. I would have noticed.

Have I been blind all this time? Is it that I can’t get past how sweet she seems? Because if I’d seen her like this, I’d have an entirely different image of her regardless of how she dresses like she’s trying to blend into the background when she’s at the office.

Her index finger and thumb close around her nipple, twirling and pulling at the stiff bud.

I outgrew porn in my teens, right after I got a girlfriend. Then I was more interested in trying some of the things I’d only seen on screen. Despite everything I’ve done since then, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a woman quite like this. At least, no one I’ve been with has left me frozen in time, anticipating what she’ll do next.

Is it the fact that I’m watching a woman who thinks she’s alone? One who seems so damn uninhibited at a moment like this. Is it that her body’s in shadow, the monitor highlighting her features, drawing my attention with every breath she takes?

A moan escapes her as her teeth come down on her lip, cutting off the sound before her hand disappears under the covers.

“Oh hell.” The way she bites into the plump lower lip is going to haunt me. Every time I see her do that, I’m going to think of this moment and how uninhibited she was when she thought she was all alone.

Her fingers are trailing over her chest, that flat stomach, down to the juncture of her legs. She’s spreading her thighs apart, going straight for the spot she knows will bring her pleasure.

I have to sit back, unable to remain comfortable as my imagination takes over where the camera frame ends. If ever there was a time I’d wish for a wide-angle lens, this is it. Her breath becomes labored. Her grip on her left breast tightens, her fingers digging into the plump flesh.

She turns away, leaving me with the gentle curve of her neck. At the base, her pulse beats frantically. The rise and fall of her chest increase. I want to touch her, to run my tongue along her skin and taste the hollow at her throat. I want to claim her mouth in every way possible.

She arches, and I brace my hands on either side of myself. My own breathing echoes in my ears as her broken cry fills the room. I dig my fingers into the cushions, aching to have her pussy gripping my cock. Sated, Nicole settles back against the pillow. Her body’s relaxed now that she’s finished, but she hasn’t turned my way.

I feel cheated. With her facing away, I wasn’t able to see her expression at the end. I won’t be there to taste her release, or to bury myself inside her body when she needs it the most. When I need it the most.

Her eyes open, her eyelashes a wide fan as her attention goes up to the ceiling. Her lips part, and I watch, my lungs burning with the need for oxygen. “Fuck you, Derrick.”

Her words cut through the silence, breaking the stranglehold on my throat. I greedily suck in a breath and lean my head against the cushion on the couch. “Fuck me, indeed.”