Mine for Tonight

Chapter 3

"Christ, you look like hell!" 

The same voice, impatient and husky, broke through her hazy mind, and she felt a pair of solid, strong arms come around her as she was lifted against a soft chest.

Warm...so warm. 

Instinctively, she snuggled into the heat of the sturdy, heat-producing form, trying to use the body heat to unlock her chilled muscles.

She rested her spinning head against a very broad, very solid shoulder and sighed as the mystery lady passed through a set of doors and into a warm building. 

Somewhere inside her mind, she knew she should be fighting her, trying to break away from the strange lady whose voice she didn't recognize, but she didn't have the strength.

Nicki acknowledged the ping of an elevator bell and her stomach rebelled as the steel chamber lurched, moving upward at what seemed like a lightning-fast, head-spinning speed.

Moments later, she was gently lowered to a comfortable bed and covered in a warm comforter that eased the chill from her body. 

Her shoes were removed roughly and dropped to the floor. She opened her eyes and tried to focus. 

Struggling to sit up, she found herself pushed back down onto the pillows by strong hands on her shoulders. 

"Don't move. Not one inch."

"I'm fine. I've had a little bug. I thought I was over it. It was just a little dizziness," she argued as she tried to sit up again.

"You're not fine," the voice barked. 

"The doctor is here to see you. He lives in the building. He saw you nearly take a nosedive into the pavement."

"Doctor?" Alarmed, Nicki focused on a man who lurked behind the bossy one. 

"I don't need a doctor." She couldn't afford a doctor.

"Too late. He's here. And you are being checked."

"I can refuse," she answered hesitantly, her gaze finally meeting the hazel eyes of her rescuer.

"You won't," she told her in a warning voice.

Her perilous appearance kept a sharp retort from exiting her mouth.

 God, she was tall. 

Broad shoulders filled her vision as she crouched beside the bed. 

She had felt her strong body while she was carrying her, but now she could visually appreciate the strength of those arms and her sexyness as her sight cleared and the dizziness began to subside.

Tall. 

Dark. 

Dangerous. 

Nicki's brown eyes clashed with her hazel brown stare, her look so ferocious that it was almost frightening. 

She ran her hand impatiently through her long blond hair, her expression grim. 

She wasn't gorgeous in any conventional way, her features too sharp and her caramel complexion marred by a small scar to her right temple and another on her left cheek. 

But damn... she was appealing in a carnal, sensual sort of way. 

Nicki could feel the intensity vibrating from her body and entering hers, making her nipples hard and sensitive. 

"Who are you?" she asked her softly, remembering that he had called her by name.

"Beyonce Knowles. Tina Knowles' daughter." She stood and backed up to let the older man behind her step forward.