“And you?” Zac’s eyes shone with amusement but beneath that she sensed something more serious - a magnetic tug, pulling her towards him. Pulling her into him. Part of her wanted to plunge right in, to jump instead of tentatively dipping her toe in at the edge of the shore.
Sod paddling, she wanted to swim.
“No boyfriend, no husband,” she confirmed, looking him directly in the eye. “And I’m not looking for either.”
Zac raised his eyebrows and grinned cockily. She narrowed her eyes at him.
Great, Flora, what did you have to give him a challenge for? Everyone knows there’s nothing like being unavailable to increase your attractiveness.
His dark blue eyes shone with an intensity that made her shiver. It was desire, she recognised it in him because she felt it too. Its re-emergence after so long shocked her. It had evolved; this new, ravenous desire was nothing like the old.
It had grown up, and so had she.
“But you didn’t answer my question,” he reminded her.
Question? What question?
“I don’t remember…” It was hard enough remembering her own name right now, never mind keeping track of the conversation.
At any rate the words passing between them didn’t seem to matter a whole lot. Hundreds of messages had already flashed between them, in their eyes, their body language, the skin on skin touch of his fingers lightly holding her wrist and in the current of sexual electricity she couldn’t ignore.
Why am I fighting this? Why should I ignore it?
This was a near perfect set up if she wanted sex but no commitment - a foreign country with a gorgeous man she might never have to see again after tonight. Wasn’t it about time? Verbier was about breaking free, kicking back and having some fun.
Right now she had the power to say yes or to walk away. She was in control and that felt good after all the crap she’d had to deal with back home.
If I can’t be bold now when can I be? It’s time Flora. Just go for it…
She was aware of the hen party girls closing in en masse behind her. The drunken giggling was a bit of a giveaway. They’d obviously decided she’d had enough space for one evening.
Please piss off!
She sent them furious telepathic signals but they weren’t picking up. Great.
“Hi Flora, if you want to stay that’s fine but we thought we’d head back to Chalet Repos.” Holly touched her lightly on the elbow. “Pippa’s worried that Scott and Steve will’ve dropped baby Lexie in the Jacuzzi or something. Hey Zac, you look in better shape than Scott after the Stag Do. I heard last night got pretty wild.”
Flora realised she was still in physical contact with Zac and pulled her hand away swiftly. So Scott and Holly knew Zac? While reassured on one level he wasn’t an axe-wielding psycho, part of her wanted Zac to be a total stranger, to stay a total stranger. That he was friends with her bosses made her a little…uneasy.
“Perhaps I should come back with you.” Flora wavered, her fingers tightening on the velvet bag strap, the sensible part of her trying to control her inner hussy. This wasn’t exactly something she’d done before. Getting it together with a random stranger in a bar was what other people did, not her. But so much had changed recently. How could she even be sure who she was or what she wanted? After years of Tom telling her what to do, the freedom to make her own choices felt…weird.
It was a nice kind of weird, though.
Verbier was a start over, a blank page just waiting for her to write in it. She couldn’t sit around waiting for someone else to come along and write her story for her. She’d already been there and done that in the first volume of ‘Flora’s Life.’
Volume two was going to be very different.
There’s nothing wrong with having sex for pleasure. It’s about time you bloody got some!
“Hey, you stay. It’s fine, you’re on leave until the wedding remember, no guests to get up for in the morning. I’d make the most of it if I were you!” Holly smiled, linking arms with an anxious-looking Pippa as they walked to the exit. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
If I were you… So that’s pretty much the green light from my boss then.
“That doesn’t leave much,” Tash shouted back to Holly, winking at Flora in an exaggerated way. The girls fell about laughing and Flora waited for the ground to open up and swallow her whole. Well why not? It felt like the kind of evening where anything might happen.
When she wasn’t magically transported away from the scene Flora risked catching Zac’s eye and a lurch of desire jolted her, her insides performing a loop the loop, leaving her physically shaken. But as powerful as the desire was, a little niggle buzzed at the back of her mind like an annoying insect.
“Excuse me for a moment Zac.”
She took a few steps towards Tash, reaching her before she got to the exit.
“Did you set me up?” she whispered furiously in Tash’s ear. She could feel Zac’s eyes on her from where he stood at the bar. They trailed over her body, over the fabric cupping her breasts, lingering on her legs…she didn’t know how she could sense it but the sexual chemistry in the air felt palpable.
It feels like magic.
She shivered again, half with desire and half with fear. She had a choice – go back to the chalet and get ribbed by the girls for being a coward, not to mention spending a sleepless night burning with frustration. Or she could stay here with Zac and let this go further.
Her body screamed an instant ‘Stay!’
“You haven’t been laid in six months Flora,” Tash hissed back, a little too loudly in Flora’s opinion.
“Great, shout it a little louder would you, I think there was a guy over in the far corner who didn’t quite catch that,” Flora muttered, her jaw clenching and molars grinding. “Thanks a bundle for making me sound desperate.”
Breaking up with Tom had been so bloody traumatic, especially with all the hassle she’d been given afterwards about calling off their wedding. Leaping into bed with someone else hadn’t been top of her to-do list given she’d suddenly had nowhere to live, no job and oh yes, had been the most hated girl in town.
“Let me see the Dare bag,” Flora asked, a suspicion occurring to her. She made a lunge for the bag and managed to grab it. She opened card after card.
Each one read ‘Kiss the sexiest man in the room’
“Did you switch the bag?”
Tash shrugged unrepentantly. “That’s what friends are for. I made some spare cards in case you needed a little push to get back out there. These ones were for you. So what? Have fun, you deserve it and you’ll be thanking me in the morning.”
Sophie lurched in the direction of the barman and Tash grabbed her arm, knocking the cards out of Flora’s hands in the process.
“Amelia and I will get her back safe safely. Seriously Flora you need some fun, it’s way overdue.” Tash put on her stern, ‘don’t mess with me face’ that worked so well on the chalet guests who thought it was funny to pinch her bum.
That was true at least.
Could I?
As the possibilities fluttered into her mind her attitude softened towards Tash. Tash knew how hard her last relationship had been, how traumatic ending it had been for her. She didn’t know all the details, but she knew enough. They’d all talked long into the night about their love lives on more than one occasion.
If I can’t have fun here in Verbier when is it going to happen?
It’s time.
Zac bent down for one of the cards that’d fallen to the ground before Flora could stop him.
Shit.
His eyebrows shot up and he grinned. “So, I’m the sexiest man in the room am I?”
Flora’s face flamed again. She cursed her inability to stop blushing, really she should have grown out of the habit by now, she was twenty-four for frick’s sake.
“Well, the bar’s a bit short of talent tonight,” she replied stiffly.
There was nothing worse than a
gorgeous man who knew exactly how sexy he was. That knowing smile was irritating and annoyingly…attractive.
Damn.
He laughed and took her hand, tugging her back towards the bar. She went unresistingly, aware of the gentle but insistent pressure of his other hand at the small of her back. The force of his will seemed sufficient to drive her but a part of her rebelled against this assumption of control.
After all, Tom had assumed control so slowly, so subtly at first that she’d thought she was imagining it and over-reacting.
These kinds of charms often acted as a mask and who knew what lay beneath?
I’ll just have to be careful.
“I’m all for you doing what the card says.” He lowered his mouth to hers and before she knew it they were kissing again. Her body pressed so firmly against his it was as though they were magnetised, relentlessly and ferociously drawn to each other.
She forgot the girls, even forgot she was angry as her fears melted away with the heat of his kisses. When he eventually pulled away the room seemed to spin a little. Her mouth opened but no words came out.
“Shall we get some fresh air?” he asked.
She nodded and averted her gaze from the smug smile of the barman. She had to see where this might take her. And she really, really needed to have sex. It’d been too long and her wakening senses demanded satisfaction.
“Why don’t we continue Truth or Dare back at my chalet?” Zac’s arm snaked behind her, his fingers lightly caressing the small of her back through the silk fabric of her dress, making her skin tingle in a very nice way. “It sounds entertaining and it could be much more fun in private.”
A thrill ran through Flora’s body and she pushed her anxieties to the back of her mind where they hovered, buzzing at her like insects, just present enough to be annoying.
I need to lighten up.
“It would sure beat holding Sophie’s hair back at two in the morning.” She joked, stalling for time, not making a move towards the coat rack at the door. If she left with him there would only be one outcome tonight.
What would sleeping with a man like Zac be like?
Only one way to find out.
She’d been with Tom since…well, it felt like forever. It actually had been forever. She’d never had sex with anyone other than Tom; that couldn’t be normal.
If she could find out what it felt like with someone who really knew what they were doing, just once…
Her body screamed at her to go anywhere this man asked her, to do anything he asked. Only the tiny trickle of fear running down her spine kept her feet from moving. She could hear Tash in her head, berating her and telling her she didn’t deserve this chance if she was going to be a wuss.
Aren’t you supposed to feel the fear and do it anyway?
“I promise you, if you spend the night with me it will be a hell of a lot better than the alternative you described.” Zac murmured in her ear, his stubble lightly grazing the side of her cheek.
“Oh really?” She laughed, looking down at her new boots. From now on they were going to be her lucky boots. “It doesn’t exactly set the bar very high does it?”
“Are you okay?”
That he sounded curious, not scornful or impatient made her like him even more. Her weird behaviour hadn’t sent him running for the exit yet and she was sure with his sexy smile he could have his pick of the girls in this bar or any of the other Verbier bars for that matter.
“Erm … ” She fiddled with her bag strap, picking at a loose thread and absently thinking she must do something about it. “It’s just I don’t really know you, it feels a little…Well it’s not something I’m used to doing, you know?”
She looked pleadingly at him, willing him to understand she was inexperienced and not dismiss her for being totally pathetic.
“If you’re worried I’m about to kidnap you, you don’t need to be. Let’s see, I’m a respectable management consultant with a flat in Geneva and a chalet here in Verbier. I love to snowboard. What else? Well, I’m quite fond of après ski and I like sex.”
“Right. Your English is very good but I can definitely hear something else in your accent?” She tried not to react to his mention of sex.
Great, now you sound like you’re making conversation at a church garden party! Not sexy Flora.
“My father’s Swiss,” Zac’s smile tightened. “Hence the Swiss surname. But I was sent to boarding school in England and my mother’s English.”
“Okay.” Flora’s tense muscles relaxed as she nestled against his firm torso. She could feel the hard muscle through his shirt, was aware of her flesh responding to him, her nipples hardening on contact.
I want this. I need this.
“So you’re happy to come back with me now you know my mother’s English?” He teased.
“Sort of, it’s nice to know a little about you.”
“And how about you Umflora? What do I need to know about you?”
“Absolutely nothing.” Flora giggled. It was great being able to finally say what she liked and do what she wanted. This was the first time since leaving Tom she felt really free from him, free from home, free from the old Flora…
“I promise I’ll come up with much more interesting Dares. Because if you don’t want to tell me anything you’ll have to do what I dare you to.”
“And vice versa, you’ll have to do what I dare you too,” she countered, feeling playful and liking the idea of having some power.
“I look forward to it.” Zac leant in closer and planted a soft kiss on her neck. She shivered, certain they both knew Zac was way more experienced than her. What would he say if he knew she’d only ever slept with one man?
I do hope he doesn’t ask me that.
Come to think of it there were all sorts of things she hoped he wouldn’t ask her. It would be so much nicer if he did things to her instead.
“Relax.” Zac stroked her ribs through her dress, sending sparks of desire ricocheting throughout her body. “Let’s go, shall we?”
CHAPTER TWO
Like there’d ever been any doubt about whether Flora was going to leave the bar with Zac. She’d been kidding herself that she could walk out of this bar and take the turning back for Chalet Repos at any time but she knew, deep down, there was only one place she was going.
To bed with Zac.
She went with him to the coat rack and once he’d helped her into her coat they stepped out onto the street. The icy mountain air assaulted them immediately. Flora shivered, half with the cold, half with anticipation.
She glanced up at the dark, star-strewn sky. It seemed appropriate; as she walked along the street with Zac’s arm behind her back, steadying her on the icy patches of pavement, it felt like taking a step into the vast unknown.
She was due some adventure.
Playing Truth or Dare made it easier. After all at least fifty per cent of the time she would be in control. There was quite a lot she wanted to ask Zac about himself. Getting to know him might be a lot of fun.
And then there was the sex…
“Is it far?” she asked.
“It’s just up here, the modern chalet with the large windows.” He pointed to a snow-covered chalet further up the hill ahead. It nestled up above the town centre, facing the magnificent drop down over the Val de Bagnes and the view across to the French Alps. It was a sight that usually took her breath away but tonight she only had headspace for Zac.
At least his chalet wasn’t as flashy or as large as some of its neighbours. It was a relatively new building, a quirky design but built with the same wood as the traditional luxury chalets surrounding it. The front of Zac’s chalet had windows the height of the building facing the mountain view and a couple of balconies to sit out on to enjoy the Swiss sunshine during the day and stars by night.
Nerves hit her as they entered the main cabin. It was cosy with large padded dark leather sofas contrasting with light oak flooring. The splashes of colour in the room came from the bo
oks on the shelves that covered an entire wall of the room. The volume of books impressed Flora. It was kind of nice to find another reader. Not that it mattered obviously. This was only going to be a short-term fling so it hardly mattered if they had much to talk about.
Zac walked over to the log basket by the fireplace and tossed another log onto the still smouldering fire. It hissed in protest and then sent flames licking around the new source of fuel, flaring into life. Outside in the darkness, snowflakes began to fall, slowly at first, then growing ever larger until the night sky was thick with snow, giving it an eerily pale glow.
“Drink?” he asked.
“Erm, I probably shouldn’t.”
Shouldn’t drink and probably shouldn’t be here. Oh help, what have I got myself into?
“Can I tempt you with a Kir Royale?”
“Okay,” she folded, mentally swatting the worry-insects away. “You’ve found my weakness.”
A couple of sips wouldn’t do any harm. It might help her to relax. She wouldn’t finish it. On top of the cocktails she’d already had, it could be lethal. Or at the very least, it could lead to her doing or saying something she’d regret.
“I hope to find a lot more weaknesses,” he replied, the corners of his mouth twitching. “It will save me a lot of time if you tell me up front.”
“You’ll have to work a bit harder at interrogation than that,” she said, taking the tall champagne flute filled with rich, dark-pink bubbles. She sipped at it, the fruity blackcurrant bursting onto her taste buds before she swallowed. The warmth spread through her chest like a comforting embrace, relaxing her.
Zac knows what he’s doing. He does this a lot.
Somehow the thought of Zac bringing numerous different women back to his chalet after a day on the slopes didn’t disturb her as much as she’d thought it would. It helped her to feel anonymous. It would be as though she’d never been here. Maybe Zac wouldn’t even remember her. That thought gave her a kind of freedom. It didn’t matter how bad she was in bed if he was going to forget her.
After tonight, apart from the wedding, maybe she wouldn’t have to see Zac again if she didn’t want to?
Secrets of a Chalet Girl: HarperImpulse Contemporary Romance Novella Page 2