The three women ate an amazing lunch, which had Nicole groaning and wishing she could unbutton her jeans. On the way to the salon, she realized that she’d never had either a pedicure or manicure and the thought of that luxury was out of the world. She sat back in the plush chair, while a woman rubbed lotion over her feet and knew in that moment she’d died and gone to heaven. If there was a greater pleasure in life she wasn’t sure what it was.

“Okay that was a slice of heaven, now let’s do some shopping,” Trinity said with a pleased look on her face.

“Seriously, the lunch and the salon were amazing and I really am feeling much better but Ryan and I have just started seeing each other and I’m not comfortable with him buying me clothes,” Nicole told them. She couldn’t tell them she was basically selling herself to the man for her sister’s operation.

“Nicole, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Jasmine once again threatened.

“Why don’t we wander around and I can be with you guys while you get new things,” Nicole tried to compromise. The two women smiled at each other and dragged her off toward some fancy store.

Nicole ran her hands along the silk of some gowns and knew it was all beyond her normal price range. She wouldn’t even be able to afford a pair of panties in a store like the one the girls had brought her to. When Patsy graduated and she was able to get some more education, maybe she’d be able to spoil herself a bit but that would be several years away. She really didn’t mind the menial sacrifices though, as long as her sister turned out okay. It would be a miracle considering the parents they were unfortunate enough to have received.

“Derek and I are throwing a masquerade ball and you need a stunning gown for it,” Jasmine told her.

“I probably shouldn’t go to a party and leave Patsy, anyway,” Nicole said with reluctance. The thought of going to a large party was very appealing, especially all dressed up. It would be really nice to feel like a princess for a night but she couldn’t justify spending the funds.

“Patsy will be well taken care of and it would truly hurt my feelings if you didn’t come,” Jasmine said, sealing Nicole’s fate. She wouldn’t want to hurt either of the two women who’d been so good to her.

“Okay, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to get one dress but seriously it doesn’t have to be extravagant,” Nicole conceded. Both Jasmine and Trinity squealed with delight and by the end of their shopping day Nicole was regretting those few simple words.

She didn’t know how the women had managed it but she ended walking from the stores with several bags and the most stunning dress she’d ever seen. She’d felt like amazing when she tried it on. She couldn’t imagine how she was going to feel when her hair was all done and she had on the heels and accessories. She was looking forward to the masquerade but she was terrified to know how much she’d spent. She was determined to pay every cent back.

Trinity and Jasmine had refused to let her see any of the totals but she would tell Ryan she wanted to know the amount and she would pay him back. She wouldn’t allow him to refuse her. She felt too much like a call-girl, with him buying her clothes.

“I’ll take your dress and accessories back to my place. I want you to come over early so we can all get ready together,” Jasmine told her. She’d still not let her see what she’d bought to go with the dress.

“That would be nice,” Nicole told her. By the time they headed back to the hospital, Nicole realized she’d had an amazing day but she was certainly exhausted. The women left her and she quickly fell asleep in the cot the staff had brought in for her.

It was her first night to sleep soundly, the whole night, since the surgery. She was grateful Patsy had been sound asleep herself, or she figured her little sister would’ve carried through on her threat and made her leave until the morning. Nicole would’ve been too stressed to sleep at the house and besides she was trying to avoid Ryan. She really didn’t think she’d be able to resist him.

“I’m fine, you can really stop fussing over me now,” Patsy said, with some impatience with her overprotective sister.

“I’m simply worried about you. You did have major surgery and are finally safe and sound and out of that horrible hospital,” Nicole told her little sister with all the patience of a saint. Patsy had been in a dreadful mood the last few days and was incredibly sick of laying in bed. She’d always been an active child and she was thoroughly sick of bed rest.

“Remember your doctor said you can’t overdo it, only mild walks and no school for at least another month,” Nicole reminded her.

“Trust me, I have you here to remind me,” Patsy told her with a sincere smile. She may be grumpy but she knew her sister was only trying to make sure she’d be okay.

“I love you so much,” Nicole told her, fighting back the tears.

“I love you too sis, now go relax for a while. I promise you I won’t melt away while I sit here and watch a movie,” Patsy told her. “I can’t believe we are in this amazing house and I really hope we get to stay for a while,” she added.

Patsy had been just as amazed of Ryan’s home as Nicole had initially been. She’d stayed there for a little over two weeks now though and had adjusted to the palatial place. For Patsy, it was all brand new and she wanted to explore everything. She was still getting winded too easily though, and had to take it easy. Nicole was going to make sure she did indeed relax.

“What is it?” Ryan snapped at his poor receptionist when she buzzed him.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you Mr. Titan but you have a call on line one,” she said to him. His entire office staff had gone out of their way to avoid him over the last two weeks. He’d been a bear to be around and he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

Nicole had been living with him for a couple weeks and he hadn’t been alone with her since the night her sister had gone in for surgery. She’d stayed night and day at the hospital and though he’d wanted to drag her from the room by her hair and insist she share his bed he couldn’t do it.

He convinced himself he was only thinking about Patsy and didn’t care about what Nicole had actually needed. Even though he wanted his revenge on her he couldn’t hurt her as bad as he would’ve been by making her leave her sister. Nicole had only started to look better in the last few days. She was finally sleeping and her skin was getting a healthy flush to it. It would feel much better to challenge her if she was able to give as well as she got.

Patsy had finally been moved to Ryan’s house that afternoon and Nicole would be back in his bed. Maybe after he satisfied his needs, he’d stop snapping at every person who dared to even look at him.

“Thanks,” he said shortly and took the call. He barely managed to be civil to the man on the other end of the line and wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t call back for a very long time. Ryan gave up on work and headed out the door. He was in no state to be around decent people.

His driver got him home in record time, since there wasn’t any rush hour traffic to deal with. He slipped inside and worked the rest of the day from his home office. He didn’t trust himself to be around Nicole yet because he was sure she was tending her sister and it wouldn’t be good for Patsy’s heart to watch her sister be ravished right in front of her. Man, he was acting like a horny teenager.

His door opened and he was about to growl at the person who dared to interrupt him, when Derek stepped in through the door. He still grumbled a bit at his cousin.

“What’s up your burr?” Derek asked with a laugh. Ryan ignored the question.

“What do you want, Derek?” he asked instead. He knew he was being rude but his arrangement with Nicole was seriously killing him. He was supposed to have her in his bed every night and so far all he’d gotten was one night in two weeks.

“I was just coming to remind you about the party tomorrow night,” Derek said, barely able to suppress his humor at his cousin’s mood.

“I did forget about that. I don’t know if I can make it with Patsy just getting here,” Ryan said. He was certainly in no mood to be at a party and he was sure he wouldn’t be able to drag Nicole away.

“Well that’s too bad because then you’re going to miss out on Nicole looking hot and sexy,” Derek said, knowing he would get a reaction out of his cousin. Ryan’s head flew up in surprise.

“I didn’t think she would be willing to part from her sister, even though I have round the clock care for her,” Ryan grumbled.

“She’s already over at the house. Jasmine insisted she and Trinity stay the night so they could do the whole beauty thing together,” Derek said with a shrug.

“Crap, I feel out of the loop, I didn’t even know she’d left. Her and I are going to have a serious talk,” Ryan said, a bit of a threat in his tone.

“Sounds as if you’re being knocked off your feet by a woman,” Derek told him, with far too smug of a look on his face. Ryan simply glared at him, until Derek chuckled. He then went over and helped himself to a generous amount of Ryan’s best bourbon.

“Well, Drew is on his way over. We figured if the girls were kicking us out, then we would make it a guy’s night,” Derek told him. “So put your work away and let’s go out to the grease joint.”

“Sounds good to me,” Ryan agreed. Drew showed up and the men headed out. Being with his cousins helped his mood slightly but he knew he wasn’t going to feel better until he had Nicole back in his bed again. He couldn’t wait until he got her out of his system for good.

Chapter Five

“So I know it’s completely over the top but we have a hair stylist and a make-up artist coming in tomorrow. I want to wow my husband and I have spared no expense,” Jasmine said, with a giggle.

Nicole’s eyes widened at the amount of money this family seemed to have. She couldn’t imagine ever being comfortable having someone hired to come in and do her hair and make-up. That was for movie stars and models, of which she was neither. She felt way in over her head.

“I’ve got all the beauty products we need for tonight. It’s a good thing you sent your husband away, otherwise he’d go screaming from the house,” Trinity said, as she produced a large bag and emptied the contents onto the kitchen table.

Nicole picked up a few of the products, having no clue what they were for. There were facial masks, lotions, essential oils and body scrubs. She had the feeling her body was going to be completely raw come morning.

“Let’s head up to my room to apply the masks. We can do the paraffin wax on our hands and feet, next. After that we’ll take bathes and turn our skin to silk,” Jasmine said, as she quickly started putting all the things back in the bag. The two women dragged Nicole up the stairs for their night of beauty to begin.

Nicole had never had such an amazing night and never wanted it to end. After several hours of beauty treatment her skin felt like smooth satin and her face was still tingling from whatever they’d plastered all over her. She felt attractive and mellow and she was incredibly nervous for the next day.