"Woa whoa whoa whoa, wait a minute. Back up there, Hercules," Nicole exclaimed as she leaned forward and began swatting Xander's hands away from being anywhere near her body. "It sounded like you just said you expect me to marry you."
"That's right, you heard correctly," he responded indifferently as he fought for the right to at least keep applying the ice to her ankle. "I thought you just assured me you would cooperate. You do realize the conditions of your release are non-negotiable."
"Oh yeah, well if I remember correctly you also assured me that I would have my freedom. Being forced to marry someone I despise isn't my idea of being free."
"Nicole, your meddling resulted in me having to do some serious damage control and by promising to keep you and Eric safe, I'm putting my own neck on the line. If anything should go wrong from here on out it'll be me who pays the piper first. Without me to protect you, they'd get to you and Eric eventually. Serena too of course, not that you would care. I think a little compensation for my efforts is well-deserved."
"Awww, what's the matter Xander? Are women not lining up on your doorstep these days, or do they just ditch you after discovering you have a scorching case of herpes, or simply because you just can't keep it up?"
"None of the above, I'm pleased to report," he responded matter-of-factly, completely unaffected by her attempt to degrade him. "That said, I regret to inform you my expectations for our future together are not fueled by feelings of love, or lust even, even though I do truly stand by the statement that you are the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on and I find you frustratingly irresistable."
Nicole rolled her eyes to show her disapproval, but she could do nothing to stop the color flushing her cheeks from contradicting the gesture. "So what, you're just hell-bent on making my life miserable because you felt compelled to save me?"
"No, it's not your life I want to make miserable. It's Daniel's."
Nicole closed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. So that was it. All the flattery, dinner invites, phone calls, and suprise visits to her office to 'check on her' had been nothing more than repeated attempts to get under Daniel's skin. Not that she was bothered by the fact that he wasn't interested in her because she certainly wasn't interested in him. Granted there were times when she found herself awkwardly staring at him, and maybe even daydreamed about kissing or making out with him on occasion, but hey...she could admit that he was a very handsome man whom she found to be most charming, prior to yesterday at least, without it having to mean that she wanted to be with him. She was in love with Daniel. Women fantasize about heated encounters with sexy celebrities all the time. Her daydreams of Xander meant nothing. Absolutely N-O-T-H-I-N-G nothing!
Poor Daniel. She wondered what in the world he'd ever done to Xander to make himself the target of his dastardly doings. This thought prompted to her to formally propose the question. "Why in the world would you want to do something so hurtful to Daniel? Whatever happened to your family meaning the world to you?"
"Ah-ha, you used a very key word in your question my dear. My family does mean the world to me but, DANIEL FUCKING JONAS IS NOT MY BLOODY FAMILY!"
Nicole flinched and began to inch herself as far as possible away from an infuriated Xander who was physically taking out his frustrations by pounding his fist into the sofa's backrest while shouting like a raving lunatic. "Xander, he's nothing but an embarrassment. A dirtly little secret Uncle Victor would rather keep swept under the rug, so much so that it was highly suggested he change his last name. Ol' Danny-boy on the other hand is uncle Victor's pride and joy. He puts that pompous little bastard before his own flesh and blood."
"Yes, I'm sure Victor's preference to Daniel over you has nothing to do with the fact that he is actually a decent human being and you are nothing but a sadistic, selfish, jealous-"
She was cut short in completing her character analysis of him by the cell phone which came flying toward her. She instinctively reached out to catch it and upon her inspection, realized it was her own.
"Call him," Xander demanded through gritted teeth as he attempted to get his anger back under control. "But first let me tell you exactly how this is going to go. You're going to tell him you were very upset by his behavior yesterday, and you wanted some time away to think. Don't make any promises to come home for a few more days. I need your undivided attention here so we can go over some things. If he apologizes and tells you he wants to make things work you're to sound hopeful. As much as I'd love for you to break it off with him straight away, I'm afraid I need you to string him along just a bit longer. I want you to say you'll forgive him and give him another chance."
Nicole shook her head frustratedly. "Why? Why would you do that, so you can toy with him even more?"
"Well, I admit that will be an enjoyable little bonus, but revenge is not the motivation here. I need you to be able to gain access to his apartment without suspicion. There's a little mission I need you to accomplish."
"Mission? What kind of mission?"
Xander used her sudden interest in the subject matter as an opportunity to work his hands back on her. She seemed to momentarily consider objecting but when no words of protest actually came through, his fingers continued to work their magic on her sore leg while he explained her assignment. "Serena finally managed to get the diamonds from the elephant statue while she was in Daniel's apartment and apparently, in attempt to keep me at arm's length until she was sure she was going to receive her cut, she stashed them away in the fireplace at Daniel's place for safe keeping."
"The diamonds were there at Daniel's the whole time?"
"Yes. As long as the statue was there anyway. So, to make a long story short, when she finally decided to hand them over, she ended up dropping the bag in his apartment not only once, but twice, apparently while tangling with you, and while she was scrambling to just get the hell out of there, she missed some. Eight to be exact. Might not sound like much now, but when each one is worth a substantial amount of money, it certainly adds up. You, my dear, have to find those missing diamonds."
"Oh, right, cuz no one notices a few random diamonds just scattered around on the floor."
"They might not be on the floor. Serena mentioned dropping the bag on the couch so most likely they've fallen beneath the cushions. It might be a piece of cake or you might have to perform a thorough sweep of the entire place. Either way, you're not off the hook until I have every single one of those diamonds back in my possession."
"Are you kidding me? What if I can't find them all, then what? Don't you think it's possible at least one or two if not all of them were swept up unnoticed and discarded?"
"Yes, it is very possible, but let's hope that's not the case. It'll be much easier for you to get them back from Daniel than it would be for you to steal them from a perfect stranger, which is what we'll be forced to do unless we want to end up being killed."
Nicole shook her head for clarity. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You expect me to help you cover your ass by stealing diamonds from a complete stranger?"
"They're only diamonds, love. How much harder can it be to steal diamonds than it is to steal a baby? Here's your answer: it's not. But let's not jump too far ahead. I'm sure you'll find them all in the apartment."
"so how is this going to work? Am I on some time limit as far as Daniel's place goes?"
"Let me put it to you this way: it'll be in your best interest to get the job done ASAP. And don't even think about stalling so you can earn yourself some extra time with Daniel before you're forced to break it off. I'll be giving you cameras to set up so that I can keep an eye on you while you're there and you'll be wired for sound so needless to say, any thoughts about getting intimate with Daniel in any way while you're there are out of the question. You are to explain you want to move ahead with caution and that you think the two of you should take it slowly. I mean it, Nicole. I don't want to see any hanky-panky whatsoever going on between the two of you. You're mine now."
Nicole found herself panting as she tried to wrap her brain around the idea of being stuck with Xander Cook for the remainder of her natural-born life. Was this physical reaction simply a symptom of shock brought upon by the chain of traumatizing events which had taken place during the last twelve hours or so? If that were true, then why was it now being paired with a physical sensation she had long ago forgotten even existed? Certainly there had to be some sort of medical explanation linking that reaction to shock as well. There was certainly nothing at all desirable about Xander other than his pretty face and accent, and there was nothing appealing about the idea of being his wife and apparently, partner in crime. At least that's what her mind tried to convince her. The throbbing between her legs begged to tell a different story entirely...one that for now she declined to listen to.
