by M. L. Smith
“You try it now, Jennifer.”
He pressed a large warm hand onto my stomach. My body literally screamed out for him and I felt myself getting wet between my hot legs. I did a set of ten crunches and he praised me.
“That’s better. You have got it, beautiful. Since it’s a lovely night, I am off for a swim. Would you care to join me?”
Zack’s voice sounded so sexy. His eyes flirted with me and did I mention his really long light brown eyelashes that just added to the beauty of his perfect face?
“I haven’t got a bathing costume, I’m afraid.”
He stared at me and there was no denying the look in his eyes. It was a look I had seen in men before. Wanting and desire.
“I will get one out of Phoebe’s room. You look roughly the same size, maybe a bit bigger in certain areas!”
He expertly eyed up my breasts whilst I squirmed under his hot gaze. Zack headed off and returned a few minutes later with an expensive-looking black costume.
“You can change in there, Jennifer,” he told me, directing me to a small room off the cabana.
I slipped into the room. My heart was pounding with a desire for him which I knew was wrong but I kept wishing that something would happen between us.
I really needed to concentrate on the job in hand, not getting the gorgeous Zachary Cole into my hands. My career that I had worked so hard for hung in the balance. I just couldn’t screw this up. It was my last chance to prove myself.
Quickly putting the costume on, I realised that I hadn’t shut the door properly. Zack had been peeking at me through the open door. He would have seen my reflection in the mirror.
How naughty, but really hot!
Our eyes met as I came out of the changing room.
“Seen enough, Mr Cole?” I asked him cheekily.
“What? Sorry, I know I shouldn't have looked but you have a gorgeous body, Jennifer,” he told me softly.
His face had a dark expression with just a hint of danger. He tried to discreetly adjust his crotch.
“Thanks,” I replied shyly.
“Come on, let’s get in. The water is heated. It’s lovely.”
He dived in gracefully reappearing further down the pool. I climbed down the steps on shaky legs and got into the pool. He watched me intently, staring at my curvy body.
Zack was right, the water was perfect.
I swam a quick length and then he swam over to me.
“Are you enjoying it so far, Jennifer?”
“I am and Scarlett is a lovely girl. She said I could go riding with her sometime. Jasper is fun and he has been trying out all his chat up lines on me!”
“You are privileged. She doesn’t let just any one ride with her. It doesn’t surprise me about Jasper. My son has a lot to learn, Jennifer!”
“I saw your wife’s horse. He looks so sad, the poor thing.”
“I know. We don’t know what to do with him. It breaks my heart to look at him. It’s as if he blames himself for her disappearing.”
“Were you here that day?”
“No, I was in the office for some of the day then I went to Tunbridge Wells for a meeting with my solicitor.”
“When did you find out Phoebe was missing?”
“I got a phone call from Scarlett. She was practically hysterical. She said that Puzzle had returned to the stables without her. I rushed home and we gathered all the staff and some friends came over to search the woods thoroughly. We turned nothing up. It’s like she vanished into thin air.”
“I’m so sorry, Zack,” I told him looking into his lonely eyes.
I wanted to hold him to me and comfort him.
“Thank you, Jennifer,” he told me and for a split second I thought that he was going to kiss me as we were really close together.
My heart was pounding and my legs were like jelly. Our eyes locked together. I would love to have known what he was thinking. I really wanted him to kiss me. The familiar feeling of fiercely wanting him hit my body in waves again. He reached over and brushed a stray hair from my face.
“You are stunningly beautiful, Jennifer.”
“Thank you. You are the beautiful one, Zack. You take my breath away.”
He stared at me intently and moved in closer. His pupils enlarged as his eyes glittered in the soft moonlight. Suddenly he looked away. The intense moment was broken.
“What does your tattoo mean, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Don't regret the past, just learn from it.”
“Pretty cool, Zack,” I smiled at him wanting to trace my finger around it.
“It’s time to get out, Jennifer. I will get you a towel.”
Just then Gatsby the crazy Labrador launched himself into the pool and gracefully swam over to us.
We exploded into laughter.
“Gatsby, you are such a bad dog!” Zack laughed and stroked his head.
Zack got out of the pool with graceful ease. I greedily drank in his gorgeous perfect body as he walked along to get the towels. Gatsby struggled out of the water and stood at the side of the pool, shaking to get himself dry.
Zack casually slung a towel around his hips and helped me out. Our eyes locked once more as he carefully wrapped a towel around my shoulders. He gazed at my breasts and I didn’t mind at all. I had always thought of my breasts as my best feature.
“Thanks for a lovely swim, Jennifer,” he said as he gave my cheek a quick peck.
As our bodies made contact, a jolt passed through me. Impulsively I reached forward, stood on my tiptoes and grabbed his neck, pulling him into me. I kissed his soft lips. My tongue pushed into his warm mouth. It felt so good. At first he responded, kissing me back with passion but then he stiffened and pulled away stepping back from me.
“No, Jennifer, we can’t. It’s not you, it’s me. I’m so sorry.”
“What? I thought you wanted something to happen between us, Zack!”
“I do. It’s just…” he whispered, looking away.
“Well? Just what, Zack? You are really confusing me!” I shouted.
God, the man was so frustrating!
“Sorry! I’m just a bit overwhelmed with my feelings for you.”
“Well, you keep flirting with me and looking at me and you know there is something between us. If you are just playing a game, I am not interested, Zack!” I told him as heat rose up my neck onto my face.
“I’m so sorry, Jennifer,” he said and abruptly turned heel to get changed.
I watched him walking back to the cabana and heard the soft click of the door as he shut it behind him. I reluctantly turned back and followed him to change back into my clothes, sexually frustrated and completely embarrassed beyond belief.
As I got changed, I heard Zack making a low moaning noise in the changing room next door. I crept closer to the door to listen and I heard him whisper my name.
After a few minutes he swore loudly and then it all went quiet.
Oh my god, was he jerking off?
Chapter Four
The following morning after a restless dream-filled night, I headed downstairs to prepare breakfast. I was surprised to find Zack sitting at the large kitchen table reading a tabloid newspaper of all things.
He had glasses on and he looked so sexy.
I couldn’t help but wonder why he was wearing jeans, a t-shirt and a hoodie. I thought that it could have been a casual day at Cole Enterprises. I breathed a sad sigh as I took in the sight of him. I really wished that he was mine. I couldn’t believe that I kissed him last night. He rejected me and it felt like a slap across my face. I had been dreading seeing him this morning.
“Morning, Jennifer. Did you sleep well?” he asked, taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes.
“No, not really, Zack. Look, I am so sorry about last night. I don’t know what came over me. It was completely unprofessional of me. I must have read the signals wrong.”
“Forget about it. I over-reacted. I just don’t want to confuse the twins. They ha
ve been through enough. It’s not like I don’t know that there is something very special between us, Jennifer. We just need to take our time with it, that’s all. I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
“It’s okay. I am glad we cleared the air, Zack.”
He stood up and pulled me into an embrace, kissing my cheek. I held him to me, enjoying the connection. I breathed in his lovely scent. He released me and smiled.
My heart skipped a beat as I looked up at him through my eyelashes.
Why did he have to be so damn perfect?
“I am working from home today playing hooky. I won’t get in your way.”
His eyes danced wickedly and I caught my breath as I got lost in them for a moment.
“I am sure you won’t, Zack.”
Scarlett came bouncing into the kitchen and I set down her usual toast and fresh orange.
“Morning, Dad, morning, Jennifer.”
“Morning, sweetheart, you are a little ray of sunshine today! What gives?” Zack laughed as she playfully swatted his rock hard bicep.
She dropped a kiss on his cheek. Looking at them reminded me of my relationship with my Dad. He always teased me and I worshipped the ground that he walked on.
Jasper skulked in and grabbed a piece of toast on the way out.
“I see you are not a ray of sunshine Jasper!” Zack teased him.
“What?” he grunted with his eyebrows knotted together.
“Let’s go!” I told them, grabbing Jasper’s arm and leading him out of the door into the warm spring morning.
“See you later!” Zack shouted after us.
“Jennifer, I am going to hockey practice after school and Yasmin’s Dad said he would drop me back off so you don’t need to worry about me later.”
“Right Scarlett, that’s fine.”
“I have rugby practice and I will get a lift back too,” grumpy Jasper muttered.
We sped off down the lane. I felt happy with how our earlier conversation had gone. I really hoped that things would progress between us.
“Have a good day, you two,” I told them as they jumped out of the car, slamming the doors noisily.
I was excited to head back to the house as I knew that Zack was there. He would probably be holed up in his study all day but at least he would be close by. That would have to be enough.
Going back into the large beautiful kitchen, I was surprised to see him still sitting there. He was playing a game on his smart phone and he looked happy and relaxed, not a multimillionaire businessman under incredible pressure. His face lit up in a broad smile.
“It’s good to see you smile. You should do it more often. You have a beautiful smile, Zack. Would you like a cup of tea?”
“Thank you, Jennifer. I would love a cup of tea. I can tell you are from Yorkshire!” he replied, flushing slightly.
“We love our tea there. I call my Dad teapot he drinks that much!”
Setting the steaming mugs down, I didn’t know whether to sit down next to him. I hesitated and remained standing next to the worktop. What I wanted to do was grab hold of him.
“Are you going to hover over me or sit down, Jennifer?”
His blue eyes rested on my breasts again and he didn’t seem to care that I noticed. Our eyes met and that familiar charge passed between us.
“Sorry,” I spluttered, taking a seat.
“So what are your plans for the day?”
I am planning on taking you to bed and having mind-blowing hot primal sex with you.
He stared at me waiting for a reply.
“Oh, I thought I would walk Gatsby. We have got into a routine and he will be waiting for me to take him out.”
“Mind if I join you, Jennifer?”
“I would love that, Zack.”
We finished our tea and Gatsby magically appeared from nowhere with his collar in his mouth.
After we had put on our trainers, we headed out of the French doors of the kitchen and started walking towards the dense woods.
“It’s a lovely day to play hooky,” I teased him as we walked along.
“It certainly is and I am in lovely company. You are very easy to be around and you don’t seem to feel the need to chatter on about rubbish like some women I know!”
“Thanks, Zack.”
We continued our walk in a comfortable silence. Gatsby sniffed around and disappeared from time to time but Zack just had to whistle and he reappeared in seconds.
“It’s so beautiful here. How long have you lived here?”
“Ten years next month. The house used to belong to an ageing rock star. He had gone bankrupt so it was an absolute bargain. It had gone to wrack and ruin but I loved fixing it up.”
“It is stunning and all this land is amazing. My Mum and Dad have about the same but there isn’t much woodland as it is split into paddocks and exercise areas for the horses.”
“It sounds very impressive, Jennifer.”
“I was pretty pleased that you kept horses here. It has been far too long since I fed my horse habit!”
“You can ride them any time you like. I want you to feel like this is your home, Jennifer.”
“Thanks, Zack. You are very different to how I imagined you.”
“Different? How do you mean?”
“I thought you would be all business and no pleasure but you are just a normal man. A filthy rich smoking hot one, mind you!” I laughed blushing.
Jesus, just shut up now!
He looked at me as he flushed red. I loved the way he was so modest and seemingly unaware of his many, many charms.
“I thought you would be stuffy and uptight. I never imagined that you would be a stunningly beautiful woman who is kind and sweet. You are great with the kids at a time that they need attention.”
I just didn’t know how to respond so I gave him a shy smile and he smiled back at me. I was finding it very hard to take my eyes off his full mouth and thinking about it all over me.
It was near to lunchtime when we got back from our very pleasant walk. I had to stop myself from grabbing his hand.
“You do know that we have met before, don’t you?” I told him grinning.
“Of course I do, Jennifer or Jenny, I don’t really mind!”
“Mr Zachary Cole. You devious man! I can’t believe you didn’t say!” I laughed, digging him hard in the ribs.
“Jennifer, did you really think I would ever forget you? You are even more beautiful than I remembered,” he whispered, holding my wrists gently.
“I never forgot about you either. I thought you were absolutely gorgeous. The most beautiful man I had ever laid eyes on,” I blurted out then I felt myself blushing profusely.
His pupils enlarged as he looked into my eyes.
“Jennifer, stop it! You are embarrassing me! I remember thinking that you were an absolute stunner. It’s your dark brown eyes they are so warm and gorgeous. I also had some very explicit thoughts about you. Especially when you bent over behind the bar!” he grinned at me winking.
“I wish I hadn't knocked you back, Zack.”
“Me too. I went back in a few times to find you but I never saw you again. The guy behind the bar said you had left.”
Wow! He came back to see me!
I had just been accepted into the police and I was undertaking my training just after I left the bar. What would have happened if I had been there when he came back in? We will never know I suppose.
I lifted my chin, staring into his eyes as I rubbed my finger over his wedding band. His hand felt warm in mine.
“Well, beautiful Jennifer, fate has brought us together once more. We will have to see where it takes us this time.”
He reached up and touched my cheek gently. It was a sweet gesture and I held his hand to my face, enjoying the feeling of his skin on mine. I could smell his sexy spicy aftershave. My heart pounded erratically in my chest. We looked into each other’s eyes. Moments passed as we stood staring at each other.
His eyes held my gaze as some
thing unexplainable passed between us. I kissed his soft palm and the ends of his fingers. A warm flush spread over his handsome face. He moved closer to me as heat radiated off our bodies. Zack stared at me intensely. His hand stroked the nape of my neck. I moaned softly. He pulled me towards him and our lips touched. I closed my eyes as my heart beat wildly. He gently kissed me with his soft lips. His tongue slowly explored my mouth. It felt like heaven. He tasted so good. My breasts throbbed and grew heavy. I touched his warm neck, pulling him into me. My fingers enjoyed the feel of his lovely skin.
His phone rang, interrupting the intense moment between us. He pulled back from me and took his phone from his jeans pocket. We were both panting. I looked down to his crotch and I could see the start of his arousal. A familiar dull ache throbbed between my legs.
“Zachary Cole,” he growled into it.
He had a short tense conversation, hanging up quickly. His eyes never moved from my face. I stared at his sensuous mouth.
“Sorry about that, Jennifer. That sort of spoilt the moment there, didn’t it?”
“God, I’m so nervous, Zack. I feel like a teenager! Shall I make us some lunch?” I asked him turning away.
“That would be lovely, thanks. I’m nervous too, Jennifer, but there’s no rush. When the time is right for us we will know,” he whispered, hugging me from behind.
His lips brushed my neck as he wrapped his arms around me. I could feel his erection. My heart thudded heavily.
“I will get us something fizzy to drink,” he whispered.
Zack disappeared down to his cellar. I realised that I could have a drink as the twins didn’t need collecting later. It would hopefully relax me a bit too. My nerves seemed to jangle in my body as we tentatively edged closer and closer to each other.
He reappeared a few moments later with a chilled bottle of Prosecco. Zack opened it like a professional and poured us a glass each.
We sat down and enjoyed our lunch together. He was really great company. Zack and I laughed about stupid things and I finally relaxed.
“When are you planning on doing any work then, Mr Cole?” I teased him.
“Well, I don't know if I can be bothered now,” he laughed, checking his beautiful watch.