by Zara Cox
“Peaches, you’re wasting time pursuing the wrong line of argument. We won’t be over after Marrakech. Not by a long shot. That I can promise you. I can also guarantee you privacy there. It’s what happens when we get back to the States that you need to worry about.”
She played with the last mouthful of pasta on her plate. “But you live in San Francisco. I live in New York. How’s that going to work?”
“I can work from anywhere in the world. Plus I have a very large private plane, several cars and an adequately working cell phone. We’ll work it out.”
Her worry didn’t abate. Slowly, she set her fork down. “Zach…This is going too fast. I don’t know if I…”
He got up and came round to where she sat. Sinking down onto his heels he grabbed her hips and swiveled her chair to face him.
“Do me a favor. Close your eyes and imagine your life a week from now. Then imagine it a month from now,” he instructed softly but with enough steel to let her know this was serious. Her heart did another of those stupid somersaults. “Do you want me in it?”
She found herself nodding before he’d even finished speaking. “Yes, I do.”
He kissed her mouth, then kept the pressure until she opened for him. The tip of his tongue touched hers, flicked in erotic exploration before licking its way deeper. At her needy moan, he pulled back.
“Then that’s all that matters.” One hand drifted over her hip to brush against her crotch. It was the lightest of touches, but it still sent her pulse sky high. “This is all that matters.”
“Great sex is all that matters?” A sliver of hurt cut through her.
“Great sex is an outstanding start. That was the reason you joined The Indigo Lounge trip, wasn’t it?”
“I… not really. I wanted to see what the experience was all about.”
“So you weren’t looking to connect with anyone?” He grated the words as if they soured his mouth.
“I don’t know. Maybe…”
“Whatever the circumstances, we found each other. The only difference here is you’re having the experience with me instead of some other guy whose face I’m trying very hard not to imagine. And it won’t end once my plane lands back in Newark. Amongst other things, I promised you Bora Bora, remember?”
She nodded slowly. Although she felt somewhat appeased, Bethany couldn’t shake the roller-coaster feeling undulating through her. But then he kissed her again. The effect of Zach Savage’s mouth on her was a lesson in how devastating chemistry could be.
He wiped her out with just one touch of his lips on hers. When he raised his head several minutes later, she was on the edge of her chair, clinging to his shoulders. His body was firmly wedged between hers, her legs curled around his hips.
They both looked down. Her dress had ridden up to reveal her naked thighs and his visibly erect hard-on was pressed against her damp panties. He rocked his hips and the friction electrified her swollen clit.
“God!”
He laughed. “I think my point is made, don’t you?”
Extracting himself from her hands and legs, he readjusted her clothing, returned to his seat, refilled her almost empty glass and picked up his.
“Tell me about your job. Do you love what you do?”
Right. She was supposed to conduct a coherent conversation while she hovered on the brink of yet another orgasm?
She dragged desperate fingers through her hair. “I… umm… I guess. I have a degree in hospitality, and events organizing seemed the perfect choice when I graduated.”
“Why the perfect choice?” he asked.
“My grandmother owned a B&B in Connecticut when I was young. I spent my summers there when I was a child and loved making up games and activities for the families that came there. It seemed a natural choice when it came to a career.”
“Is Neon your first job?”
She looked up in surprise. “How do you know where I work?”
“You filled in your personal details when you applied to join Indigo.”
“Oh. Yes, I joined as a junior organizer three years ago and was promoted to an account holder last year, before…”
“Before what?”
She thought for a moment, and shrugged. There was no harm in letting him know she’d known about him before she joined his trip. “My bosses wanted your business. They asked me to investigate you. Find out if any of your business interests coincided with ours. But the companies you use are in the mega league. When I reported back that I couldn’t find a way in, I stymied my prospects at Neon for a while.”
“Ah, so our meeting wasn’t karmic after all?” He sounded faintly disappointed and the look he gave her was mildly calculating.
“What, you think…? I had no idea you would be in Newark! And my presence on the Indigo trip had nothing to do with work. Besides, considering you had over five thousand applicants to choose from, it would’ve been a huge gamble to take just on the off chance that I would be chosen.”
“But you were.”
“Would you rather you hadn’t met me?”
“I think we’ve established my feelings on that point. But I’m wondering what you’d have done if the opportunity had arisen…?” he pressed.
She set her glass down. “Zach, I make it a point never to sleep with a client, potential or otherwise.”
“Has the temptation ever arisen?”
“Seventy-five per cent of the events I organize are social events—parties, galas, weekend bonding trips. Alcohol-fueled testosterone tends to result in passes being made.”
His hand tightened around his glass, his gaze turning hard as they rested on her. “Has it ever gone beyond making a pass?” he asked silkily.
“Just once. Luckily, my knee-to-crotch reflexes were razor sharp. By the time he sobered up, he’d forgotten the incident.”
He relaxed a little. “So I stymied your chances at a promotion?”
“Sheena, my boss, had a hard on for getting your business soon after the Indigo Lounge venture kicked off. She’s been dying to expand the company for a while. We submitted a proposal but it was very thin on the ground due to lack of info.”
“Most of my companies are listed on the stock market.”
“Yes, but she wanted an extra edge.”
He nodded. “Fair enough. I’d do the same in that situation.”
“Yes, so I visited your New York offices and spoke to one of your press officers about Indigo. She revealed nothing beyond what was already in the public domain.”
He grinned unapologetically.
“But she did tell me about the extra guests you allowed on your planes. I told Keely—”
“Your sexed-up friend,” he inserted dryly.
Bethany laughed. “Yep. She pushed me into signing up, and I guess the rest is history.”
He shook his head. “Not history. We’re only just beginning, baby.” He rose from his chair, discarding his glass with a casual grace that had her insides clenching with impossible lust. He caught her up and brought her close to his body. She was totally unsurprised to find that his erection hadn’t subsided. One hand gripped her hair, exposing her jaw and neck to his soft kisses, as the other clamped around her waist. “What’s Keely’s last name?”
“Why?” she asked after forcing breath into her lungs.
“Because I owe her big for her role in bringing you into my life.” His tongue rimmed her lips. The action had the immediate and damning effect of liquidizing her insides and wetting her sex.
“Even though you suspected I had an ulterior motive just now?”
He pulled back slightly and gazed down at her. “I don’t apologize for double-checking my position in your life, Bethany. A man in my position has to learn to question any and all angles. Besides, I don’t trust easily. ”
“I know. I recall a very thorough frisking in your office.”
One corner of his mouth lifted but his face remained serious. “Only time will prove both our intentions. I hope you’re okay wit
h that?”
She hesitated. What he said did make sense, although an irrational part of her wanted his trust of her to be immediate and unquestioning. Deep down she knew she trusted him on some level, at least enough for her to have made the decision to abandon the Indigo Lounge trip to come to Paris with him.
But then, she’d trusted Chris implicitly. Until he’d dropped his bombshell in her lap.
Caution was good. Caution was essential.
“Yes. I’m okay with that.”
He exhaled and a look of relief crossed his face before he slid both hands over her ass and squeezed tight.
When she shuddered in response, he groaned, pulled her closer and lifted her up.
“Put your legs around me, baby.”
She complied, bringing her damp center flush against his rock hard erection. He started to walk back into the suite. Being this close to his warm, gorgeous body made desire burn hotter.
Unable to wait any longer, she caught his face between her hands and took his mouth in a hot, needy kiss.
He stumbled and she heard his hand slap the glass door to steady himself. Chest heaving, he deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding against hers in erotic promise of what his cock would do to her in the very near future.
Needing him more than she’d ever needed anything in her life, she rocked her hips against his rigid length.
“Shit. I can’t think straight when you do that.”
“Good, I don’t want you thinking straight. It’s only fair because I can’t think straight, either.” She rubbed her breasts against his chest and was rewarded with another pithy curse.
“Hold on, Peaches. Please, just another minute.”
She whimpered and he squeezed her ass. She heard the door slide open and they stumbled into the living room. Expecting him to tumble her onto the sofa as he had earlier, she jerked in surprise when he continued walking.
“I don’t have any condoms here.”
She gave another pathetic whimper. It would take at least a couple minutes to get to his suite. That was two minutes too long.
“I want you now, Zach! Please … it hurts.”
“I know, sweet baby. I’ll make it better in a minute. I promise. Just hold on.”
Her fingers dug into his shoulders as he increased his stride. Even before he’d fully entered the bedroom, he was ripping away her panties. Her dress followed as soon as he set her down. His hot gaze glided over her as his hand went to his belt and tugged it off.
The moment he was naked, he grabbed her and threw her on the bed. Two fingers slid into her wet heat before she could draw another breath, sending her already heightened senses spiraling out of control.
“I’ve been dying to fuck this tight little cunt for the last hour,” he murmured just before he closed his mouth over one hard nipple.
Head rolling back, she spread her thighs wider. “Then what are you waiting for?”
Chapter Ten
She woke the next morning to find herself alone in bed. Disoriented for a moment, she slowly relaxed against the pillows as recollection dawned and replayed in vivid Technicolor.
Less than twelve hours ago, she’d become Zachary Savage’s lover.
In that time, she’d had more sex than she’d had the past year. He’d been relentless with his demands, fucking her in more positions than she knew existed.
But more than that, an excitement burned inside that had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with the prospect of having a dynamic man like Zach in her life. The stomach-knotting anxiety she had felt all through the trip to Shanghai and on the way to Paris had subsided a little.
Things were moving a little too fast for her, but the knowledge that Zach was just as caught up in this fever of need they’d discovered for each other helped to ease that anxiety.
She stretched on the bed, her breath catching when inner and outer muscles protested at the workout they’d received at her lover’s hand.
Slate colored sheets warmed beneath her hands as she drifted them over the space Zach had slept in. Turning her head, she closed her eyes and inhaled his scent and immediately her pulse ramped up. The plan had been to join The Indigo Lounge to blow away pain and misery of the last six months and to have fun, but this…
“This is insane,” she muttered.
“Talking to yourself, Peaches?”
She jerked upright.
He stood at the foot of the bed, shirtless and dressed in loose joggers. The sight of his broad shoulders, sculpted, hairless chest and tight six-pack made her mouth water.
It was obvious Zachary Savage looked after himself. Suddenly she felt pleased about her own regimen of running ten miles three times a week.
His gaze dropped to her naked breasts and he licked his lips. “Come and eat your breakfast before I give in to the urge to eat you instead.” Despite the growing erection, he started to turn away.
Disappointment cut deeper than it should have. “Am I that easy to resist all of a sudden?”
His gaze drifted over her, and she caught the slight flare of his nostrils as he exhaled. “Don’t tempt me or we’ll never leave this room. There’s been a development. I prefer you to know about it sooner rather than later.”
With that cryptic remark, he exited just as quietly as he’d entered.
And just like that, the anxiety was back.
Jumping out of bed, she quickly shrugged on the silk robe supplied by the hotel. A brush through her hair provided a little composure.
Barefooted, she entered the sun-lit dining room to find him reading a paper.
On the table, delicate croissants and pain au chocolate, coffee, fruit and condiments were spread on crystal tableware and sterling silver china.
He lowered his paper, rose and came around to where she sat. The casual kiss he dropped on her head made her breath catch. Without speaking, he spread a linen napkin over her lap and poured her a coffee. Once he’d added the prerequisite spoon of sugar and a drop of cream, he set it down in front of her and returned to his seat.
His lips firmed as he picked up the spare newspaper and pushed it across the table. “Page seven.”
Her heart lurched and she curled her fists in her lap. “What’s on page seven?” she asked.
He remained silent but his eyes stayed on her as she slowly reached for the paper and opened it with trembling fingers.
A picture of Zach with a stunning, statuesque blonde, who had a hand on his shoulder and her face raised to his. She looked as if she was about to burst into tears.
Bethany recognized the heartbreak in her face. It was the same way she’d felt when Chris had dropped his bombshell and shattered dreams she’d nurtured for almost ten years.
She cast her gaze over the words. A few familiar words jumped out at her. Names too—Cindy, Isabelle, Farrah. But joined together they meant nothing. She was cursing herself for not taking high school French seriously, when he leaned closer.
“Zachary Savage Dumps Latest Flame.”
He murmured the translation but Zach may as well have shouted it. Because she was looking closer at the picture and seeing the clothes he wore yesterday when he’d left her here for hours and hours. Just to confirm, she glanced at the date of the newspaper. The vice tightened harder around her chest.
She raised her gaze to his. “This was what you were doing yesterday?” Her voice shook as almost as hard as her fingers. Irritated with herself for that humiliating show of emotion, she slammed the newspaper down. Unable to sit still any longer, she pushed her chair back and hurried away from the table. “Fuck you, Savage!” She threw over her shoulder.
“Bethany, wait!”
She heard his chair scrape across the terrace floor and broke into a run. It was insane how much she hurt. Insane and frightening.
He caught up with her just as she entered the hallway that led to their suite.
A hand on her arm stopped her. When she struggled against his hold, he pinned her to the wall, his hard thighs bracketing hers. �
�Baby, listen to me.”
“Why should I? You left me here cooling my heels so you could go dump your old girlfriend and come back and fuck your new one. It’s not exactly axe murder territory but it ranks up there next to sleazebag. Jesus, do you know how that makes me feel?”
She tried to pull away. He held her tighter.
“That wasn’t all I did yesterday—”
“God, please tell me you didn’t fuck her goodbye.” The very idea of it made her stomach flip over.
His jaw tightened. “Of course I didn’t! Until last night, I hadn’t fucked another woman in months.”
The answer appeased her a little, but the knowledge of what he’d been doing was still wedged like stone beneath her breast, terrifying the living daylights out of her. How had this man come to mean so much to her in so short a time?
“Why did you show that picture to me? You could’ve kept it to yourself.”
“Last night you told me you didn’t like secrets. I can’t share all of my life with you, but what I can I will make as transparent to you as possible.”
“So you intend to tell me about every woman you’ve slept with since your balls dropped?”
His gaze hardened. “Don’t get snippy, Peaches. Or I’ll have to spank your gorgeous ass. I only told you about Sadie because you were already in my life before I’d made it clear she was out of mine. But I assure you it wasn’t news to her.”
A sudden thought struck her. “That’s what you meant by ‘when the time is right’!”
He nodded.
“It was also why you didn’t touch me after that time in your office.” His iron-strong restraint, his desperately hungry looks. It all made sense now.
“I didn’t think it was right to lay a full claim on you when another woman felt she had the right to claim me. I wanted to finish things properly with her first.”
She shook her head. “It still doesn’t feel right…”
“Bethany, I've belonged to you since the moment I saw you. I had to make sure someone else knew that. That's all.”
That floored her. In these days of dumping-by-text where guys felt perfectly absolved of any responsibility once they’d pressed send, Zach had flown thousands of miles to put things right with one girlfriend before starting with another. She’d seen the strain and naked hunger in his eyes from the moment they’d met. He’d stopped himself from acting on it until he was truly free.