Surrender to My Prodigal Billionaire

Chapter 9 - Everything That Is Mine

Drake

The girls have been on the dance floor for barely over an hour and I have a list of at least twenty men that I would have no problem knocking out with the way they are looking at Nikki. While I may not be much better with how I have memorized every movement of her hips as she sways out there - they don't even know her!

"Do you think Ashton will keep me on when he takes over?" Jordan muses out loud and I snap my head towards him.

"What the f**k are you talking about?"

Rolling his eyes, Jordan tips back the rest of his drink before slamming it on the table. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. You have had seven women walk up to this table and you have brushed everyone of them off. Add to that the fact that you have been eye-f*****g Nicolette this entire time - I just assumed my job is doomed."

Blowing off his comments, I will myself not to look back at the girls. They can handle themselves and we are right here if anything gets out of hand. I know he is right. She is messing with my head in ways that I'm not used to. Initially, I thought it was just my normal nature pushing me towards her, but now - I'm not as sure.

"I was just making sure no one bothered them," I assure him, but I don't even buy the lame excuse.

Leaning his elbows on the table, he relaxes a little. "Your dad was clear. Unless you want Ashton's filthy hands on what you worked so hard for - you need to leave her alone."

Rubbing the back of my neck, I nod. "I just don't get it. There is nothing different about her than most of the women I've taken home before - but it feels like there is. I know it doesn't make sense."

"It makes perfect sense," Jordan states as he flags the waitress over. After ordering another round, he turns back to me. "She is off limits. It makes her more appealing in a weird way. It is how you're programmed. Think about it. If she was just another girl that was hired with no stipulation hanging over your head, you probably would have already had her under you a few times. But - now she has the extra temptation of being off-limits. It ups the thrill."

Weighing his words, I can't help but find truth in what he is saying. Not once in my life had I been told that someone was off-limits. It is possible that the only reason I want her as badly as I do is only because I know I can't. More of a challenge than an attraction.

"You're right. That has to be it. For a minute, I thought I was losing my mind and starting to become an i***t like you," I poke at him.

"Joke all you want, but I'm the one that doesn't have to worry about finding someone to take home tonight," he winks at me and I glance out to the dance floor but do a double take when I see the girls are gone.

"Where did they go?" My eyes scan the entire area but I don't see them anywhere.

Jordan cranes his neck to look around for a minute and then shrugs. "Maybe the bathroom?"

Sitting back down, I know I'm just overreacting. They are together. It isn't as if one is out there alone. Peering over towards the bar area, I see Molly walking towards the table through the crowd and I fully settle down. I need to get this under control.

Molly takes a seat next to Jordan. Giving her a questioning look, she just returns a weird one.

"Where's Nicolette?"

"Oh. She got distracted at the bar," she giggles.

"Distracted?" I don't like the sound of that one bit.

Waving me off, she just giggles. "Yeah. She is so oblivious. This guy has had his eye on her all night. He finally got the balls to make his move at the bar, so I made myself scarce."

Without a second thought, I'm on my feet and headed to the other room where the bar is located. Panning the room, I don't see her at first. It isn't until my gaze lands on the last fucker I want to see - with her right in front of him. Out of all the assholes in here, he is the last one I want anywhere near her.

Making my way over, I stand protectively behind Nikki as I watch the smile fade from his face. In its place is pure distaste and hatred. It doesn't phase me, since the feeling is mutual.

"Ashton. What brings you up this way? Didn't know you had a place up here."

Nicolette appears as if she is watching a tennis match with her eyes darting between the two of us. "You two know each other?"

"Unfortunately," Ashton says with his full attention back on her. "Drake and I go way back."

"Oh right. I forgot. Your meeting with Mr. -", Nicolette begins, but Ashton is quick to cut her off.

"I'm sorry. Is this your date for the evening?" Ashton directs the question at me as I try to figure out what he is hiding.

As much as I want to say yes so he stops standing so close to her, I know he will run back to my dad with it. Even though we haven't done anything wrong, my dad will never believe me. So, against my better judgement, I shake my head.

"No. We had work to handle last night and I needed Miss Andrews' assistance."

Nikki flinches subtly at my use of her formal name, but I can't let Ashton think I'm the slightest bit interested in her. If he has any clue, he will be like a starving shark thirsty for the first unsuspecting swimmer he can find.

"Excellent. Then, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask this beautiful woman to dance with me."

The smile Nikki gives him is enough to turn my stomach. There may be no way I can get him to leave her alone, but I can buy some time.

"Not at all. But she did promise me one first. I'll return her shortly."

Before Nicolette can object, I take her hand and lead her through the crowd to the dance floor without looking back. She tugs at my arm the entire time, but I just tighten my hold. She must not want to cause a scene, because she stops trying to get free.

Spinning towards her, I pull her into my arms and try to move to the beat of the music. I hate dancing and I'm awful at it, but I have a few things to say to her and this is the only way to make sure his ugly face doesn't interrupt us.

"What the f**k was that?!" she hisses.

"Funny. I was just about to ask you the same thing."

Rolling her eyes, she continues to move to the music but doesn't try to get away.

"I don't know! Everything was going great until you came over and ran clitorference!"

Gaping at her, I think I got lost along the way. "What the hell does that even mean?"

"It is like cockblocking but for women!"

"You were going to sleep with him!?!", my voice raises higher than I expect and a few of the others on the floor watch us with interest.

After giving them an apologetic smile, she slaps me on the arm. "Lower your voice! I was going to until you swooped in acting all hero. I was fine!"

"You've only known him for five minutes!", I shoot back.

"I met him a few days ago. And you know what, this is real rich coming from you. Newsflash buddy....women have needs too! I'm allowed to hook-up with a guy....", stopping, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "No. This is none of your business. I don't have to explain anything to you. You are my boss. It is none of your concern what I do in my free time."

Pushing away from me, she levels a glare at me. Almost as if challenging me, but I don't know for what.

"Tell me one thing. You said you met him the other day. Where?"

Slapping her hands to her face, her frustration is evident, but I have to know what is going on.

"Fine. He was at the office for a meeting with your dad. Now, if you will excuse me....I have a man that actually wants me waiting for me at the bar."

The coated insult doesn't go unnoticed by me. If only I could get her to understand that I do - I really f*****g do....but I can't. Jesus, this is so f****d up. And now I have Ashton sniffing around her and my business - it is getting too complicated for how I like to live my life.

Before I can think better of it, I grab her arm, spin her around and toss her over my shoulder.

Flailing and kicking, she isn't the happiest about this arrangement, but I don't give a f**k right now. There is no way I'm letting her leave with that prick.

"Put me down right now!", she shrieks as her tiny fist connects with my kidneys, but I don't slow down at all.

Getting to the table, I toss a wad of bills on the table as Molly looks up at me in terror and Jordan in full amusement.

"This should cover your drinks for the rest of the night and a cab home - uhhhh,". I almost double over as she gets a good shot in at my ribs. "Or a room for the night."

"Have a good night,"Jordan calls out behind me as I exit the building.

"You can't do this! Put me down right now! I'm not above biting you!," Nikki threatens as I get near my car.

"Oh, that actually sounds like a good time," I laugh and feel her still against me for a minute.

"Perv!"

Wiggling the keys out of my pocket while trying not to drop her, I hear someone shouting behind me. Why couldn't he have just stayed inside!?

"Ashton! Get this brute to put me down!"

Ashton slows as he gets to us. Eying me, I can tell he is trying to weigh his chances. While he is not small by any means, he and I both know that there is no contest about who would win. Quirking an eyebrow at him, I wait to see how he wants to do this.

"Stop acting all caveman and put her down," he insists, but I don't budge.

"Can't do that. She is intoxicated and I would do her a disservice if I let her leave this bar with anyone. She could be taken advantage of."

While most of that is true, it is a plausible story if any of this makes it back to my father in the meantime. I was just being a good man. Nothing else to that story that would seem inappropriate.

"Unless...", I begin, "I mean, you wouldn't want your dad to know I let her go with you and then she ended up doing something she may regret."

"I wouldn't regret it!", Nicolette growls, but the indecision is clear as day on his face.

Taking one step back, I know I got to him. "I'll come see you at the office this week, Nicolette."

Ashton turns and starts back to the bar before Nikki starts hollering again. "What? NO! Put me down right now or I promise you that you will regret this!"

Unlocking the car, I get a tighter grip on her. I need her to settle down and not punch me and run the moment I try to put her in.

"Listen, Nikki. I'm going to put you down. You are going to get in the car and we are going back to the cabin to talk."

"Like hell I am!", she seethes.

"Have it your way. You can go back there, but then I'd have to tell my father you were sleeping with the competition. I don't know if he would take too kindly to one of his employees doing that."

She stops thrashing, and pants heavily over my shoulder in silence for a minute. "Competitor?"

"Yep. I'm very interested that they met up the other day. Did my dad see you two interact with each other?"

By the way she holds her breath, I have my answer already.

Confident that she won't try to run, I slowly set her on the ground. The look in her eyes is pure murder, but I couldn't care less at the moment. It is a win-win for me. I get to pick her brain about what she knows and I kept her from going home with that creep tonight. She already disliked me, so there was nothing for me to lose.

"This isn't over," she huffs as she gets in the passenger seat and slams the door behind her.

"Wouldn't dream of it, angel."

Getting back to the cabin, I barely have the car in park before she flings the door open and marches inside. Looks like it is going to take some work to get her talking to me again, but I did what I had to. Instead of throwing her little fit, she should be thanking me. If she thinks that I am low based on my personal dating life, she hasn't seen anything. I look like a damn saint next to him.

The one glowing difference between the two of us is I don't use daddy's name to get farther in life. Nothing he has done has ever been from his own hard work or merit. He has no problem crushing anyone to get what he wants. I wouldn't put it past him to sell his own mother if he was given the chance. That is one of the reasons it is so baffling to me that dad would even entertain the idea of handing everything he worked so hard for over to that brat.

Closing the door behind me, I hear her slamming items upstairs and decide to get a drink until she is ready to come down. I may not have met her long ago, but I know as stubborn as she is, she will want to give me a piece of her mind and not let it seem as if I have won.

As I hear her footsteps drawing closer, I lean back in the chair and wait for whatever she has come up with.

With her focus falling on me, there is nothing but rage flaring in those bright eyes of hers. It takes everything in me not to smile at the sight. Right now, as pissed as she is, I wouldn't put it past her to slap me.

"You had no right to drag me out of there the way you did! I'm not some rag doll you can make bend whichever way you choose! I am your assistant professionally and that is where our relationship ends! You could have easily acted like a grown f*****g man and just told me who Ashton was! Would that have been so hard?! I would have left him alone. But instead, you decide that you want to have a pissing contest!"

Taking a sip of my bourbon, I watch as she paces and rants. I'm almost certain I could get up and leave the room right now and she would be none the wiser. She is so wound up that I'm wondering if her head will pop off.

"There were plenty of other guys there. How hard would it have been to just tell me that you knew him and it wouldn't look good if I had been seen with him. I would have moved on to the next. But no! That wouldn't be as spectacular as the exit you made! Jesus, Drake! Do you have any idea of how embarrassing that was?! Of how that looked to anyone that was there!?"

"And how do you think it looked to them?", I ask out of sheer curiosity.

Spinning on me, she gives me a glare. "If I witnessed that, I would have thought it was a couple having an argument. That the boyfriend was having a hissy fit because another man tried to talk to his woman or some barbaric bullshit like that."

"Do you believe people thought we were a couple?"

Shock covers her face. "That? Is that all you are worried about?"

I just shrug but it must strike the wrong nerve because she starts walking over to me slowly. Maybe she is trying to figure out if she would be able to get away with killing me here and now.

"If they had half a brain, it wouldn't have crossed their minds."

"Why is that?" I swallow and stand as she gets within a foot of me.

Her nostrils flare as her jaw ticks. She's pretty hot when she is mad, but I doubt right now is the best time to tell her that.

"Because there is no way in hell I would be with some pompous, egotistical, narcissistic, smug douche like you!"

"Maybe they would think that there was no way I would be with a stubborn, irritating, know-it-all, snob with a stick up her ass like you!" I counter.

Her face scrunches up until her eyes are just slits, but I'm not backing down this time. Every since the day I met her, she has had a preconceived notion about me and ran with it without giving me the sliver of a chance. Any other employee of mine wouldn't dare to act the way she has, yet she is the only one I have let push it this far.

We stay locked in a glaring match, neither of us willing to back down. If nothing else, I have to give her credit for her confidence. Most women get intimated by me easily. From the way she looks now, I have a feeling she would die before she ever moved her gaze.

"You are....", she murmurs as she takes a step closer.

"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you," I whisper.

She bites her lower lip and it is as if my last bit of control snaps. Grabbing her face, I crush her lips to mine. God, it is better than I could have imagined. So soft and molding perfectly to mine. Catching her off-guard, she lets out a small gasp and I seize the opportunity to slide my tongue in her mouth and deepen the kiss. To my surprise, she doesn't push me away, but instead throws her arms around me and grips my hair to the point bordering on pain. Jesus, this woman will be my final undoing. As with most of our interactions, our tongues war with each other for dominance. Sliding one hand to the back of her head, I let the other one trail down her neck and stopping at the zipper on her shirt. Slowly working it down, I ease us down into the chair. Straddling me, I groan as she begins grinding on me and I don't know whether I want to rip her clothes off or take my time.

With her shirt open, I slip my hand up her stomach and am rewarded when I get to the soft skin of her breast. Jesus Christ! I don't know if I would have lasted this long if I knew she didn't have a bra on all night. Seeking out her pebbled peak, I pinch and roll it between my thumb and forefinger as her soft moans spur me on. My c**k is c**k hard as she continues her delicious assault.

A car door slamming freezes us both on the spot.

"What is that?", she whispers.

Straining to see if can hear anything; muffled voices filter in and there are only two people that could be. f*****g Jordan! Always with the perfect timing.

Nikki jumps off me in a flash and starts fumbling with her shirt to get it zipped up while I adjust myself so it doesn't look so obvious. You would almost have to be an i***t not to know what was going on in here though. Nikki's lips are pink and swollen from our activities. Had they shown up even ten minutes later......

What the f**k was I thinking? This would ruin me. And for what? I have to tell her somehow that this can never happen again. Right now isn't the best option since it seems like a d**k move, but soon.

Knowing I have to say something, I hang my head and brace for what may come. "Listen, Nikki," I start as I turn towards her. "Nikki?"

But she's gone. And then I hear a door slam upstairs. f**k!