Past Lies

by Kim Rees

  “I do enjoy the fact that you’re playing gauche to the bitter end.”

  His fingers slipped over her skin, found the concealed zip. Anna closed her eyes. The slide of his fingertips down her bared spine, a tender and teasing caress.

  “Such incredible skin, Anna.”

  The murmur of his voice over her ear tickled her with his hot breath and she bit back a moan. Slowly, all too slowly, he eased the silk from her skin until it dropped to a puddle of cloth at her feet. Her arms, hands shot up to cover her nakedness.

  “Oh no,” Zach said softly. “I’ve never had the chance to truly appreciate you.” His hands caressed her arms, a gentle persuasion. “Turn around.”

  “I…”

  This wasn’t exactly what she had imagined. Zach being naked had definitely been a high priority. But he was still very clothed.

  “Anna…”

  His voice was a drop of pure heat through her blood. A slow sigh escaped her. Anything, anything to have that voice, that mouth whispering over her skin. She turned.

  Zach’s look scorched down her body and Anna’s blood pounded. Embarrassment gave way to something else. To a delight, a satisfaction in Zach wanting what he saw. And he did. Blazing eyes found her, dilated almost black.

  His large hand framed her jaw, a thumb stroking over her lip.

  Without thinking, her tongue darted, caught his thumb tip. He hissed.

  She twitched a smile. “Aren’t you going to return the favour?”

  Zach’s attention returned to his clothes, the half-open shirt. A sly smile cut his mouth. “I might… What can you trade me?”

  Anna blinked. Should have known it wouldn’t be simple with Zach. His amount of experience— No. She wasn’t thinking about the number of women he had taken to his bed since their brief fling.

  Her arms covered her breasts again.

  “So there are rules.” Zach stepped back and slow, practiced fingers slid over the buttons of his shirt. “As this is an unofficial agreement.”

  Anna’s mouth ran dry. She couldn’t help herself and stared at the expanse of brown, muscled flesh that came into her view with each slip of his fingers. He tugged the shirt free of his trousers and shrugged out of it.

  Her body pulsed.

  The sly smile still cut his mouth, his eyes searing her.

  “What are your rules, Anna?”

  She swallowed and found her voice. “This is a game-free zone, Zach.”

  “Now that is a pity.”

  She blinked. Every ounce of her inexperience weighed on her. Really? What was she doing? She glanced involuntarily over the smooth run of Zach’s stomach muscles and with it came the urge to lick, to sink her teeth… She couldn’t stop the smile.

  A new life with no regrets.

  That was the promise she’d made herself. And she would be an idiot and regret it until the end of her days if she didn’t have him. Right now.

  “Have your eyes finished eating me?” Zach’s expression was wry.

  Yes. She was staring again.

  “Are there any more rules, Anna?”

  The sly humour in his expression, the smile that quirked his mouth unnerved her. Anna was speaking before she realised, “Just one. We have until dawn. After that, it’s over. We…” Had she just said that? Protection. She wanted protection from another of Zach’s cynical offers. She watched his eyes narrow and her chest tightened. His humour had faded. “We…never mention it again. And after our week’s up, we very happily go our separate ways.” Her chin lifted. “Agreed?”

  “Seems you’re very used to brokering deals, Anna.”

  Zach could never resist the little stinging jabs. Even now. She glared up at him. Close. So close that his scent filled her, mixing with the fire in her blood. “You should be pleased that I’m not begging to be a chain around your neck.”

  “I’m not a fool, Anna.” The low growl of his voice tore through her. His knuckles stroking her cheek jolted her. “The only place for you is in my bed.” Fire sparked in his eyes. “And wherever else I can have you. Nothing more.”

  “I will never be one of your deals.”

  “No?” His smile was wicked. “Is that a dare?”

  Her blood was in riot, heat burning her face. Anger or need… The lines were blurred. “You—”

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” And his mouth crushed hers.

  She should have remembered that talking was overrated. Completely overrated, when she could be doing this.

  Her mouth opened and she sighed at the sweet taste of him, at the clever, clever flick of his tongue over hers. His hands slid down her body, shaping every curve until she was pressed against the hardness of his chest.

  Anna groaned.

  The satin heat of his skin against hers.

  So simple.

  But it shot fire through her veins. And then her hands started to move, to slide over his smooth skin, feel strong muscles tense under her fleeting touch. Her fingers pushed at the waistband of his trousers. Wanting, needing to feel more, all of him.

  “Patience.” His voice was a growl against her shoulder and she shivered. “We have until dawn, Anna.” In one swift movement, she was high in his arms. A feral smile cut his mouth. “And if this is to be secret…? I want to make certain that it’s a secret worth keeping.”

  Anna’s mouth dried.

  Zach laid her on his bed, sheets cool against her burning skin. She watched his fingers unbuckle his belt, tug at the button and zip on his trousers. She swallowed, suddenly nervous. Her heart pounded.

  She’d had sex with this man, years ago. A brief, incredible moment.

  But she had never seen him naked.

  Anna’s head fell back into the deep pillows and she made herself stare up at the ceiling. Follow the subtle moulding that edged it. Breathe. Breathe. Before she panicked. She wanted this. She did. But she was scared.

  Her eyes closed.

  Scared that she would make a fool of herself. That despite what she thought, a man like Zach would baulk at her inexperience.

  “Anna?” The hot glide of his fingers across her stomach broke her thoughts. “Have I bored you already?”

  He wanted her. She wanted him.

  Anna shivered under the slow, sure caress. She made a smile curve her lips. “Not…yet.”

  Zach’s reply was a hot, wet mouth on her stomach, his tongue tracing her navel. She yelped, wriggling. His laughter shot heat to her toes. “I think I know how to keep your interest.”

  That mouth, that tongue sliding lower, little kisses against her flesh.

  In reflex, Anna grabbed at the pillows, arching her spine under his touch. Oh God… She had never done this.

  “Just this tiny scrap of lace.” His breath stirred her damp skin and his fingers pulled at the practically indecent underwear her sister had left her. Then all thought disintegrated. There was only his mouth and those insane little kisses.

  The sudden heat of his tongue lifted her pelvis off the bed.

  A strong hand held her down.

  Fire pulsed low in her belly with each stroke of his tongue, the clever way he licked and sucked. Anna moaned against the perfect, perfect… Her blood pounded. Little bursts of pleasure fired through her brain. She couldn’t take this. She couldn’t. It was driving her insane, her body twisting, writhing.

  But always strong fingers held her, finding her.

  She was so close, so—

  Dazed, she focused on the dark, tousled head buried between her thighs. Zach. To know it was Zach. Oh God. Oh—

  A burst of heat rioted through her body, her blood singing, her mind lost to light. She thought she cried out his name.

  But at that moment, she didn’t care.

  Nothing mattered.

  Finally, finally her body sank into the soft mattress and a satisfied grin split her mouth.

  “So that wasn’t boring?”

  “Interesting.” Her voice was breathy and she couldn’t help herself. “Very interesting. Would
you like marks out of ten?”

  “Flippant?”

  The happy post-orgasmic buzz still held her. “Always.”

  “Not for long.” His silver-edged gaze speared her. “I promise.”

  Her heart pounded, but she couldn’t tear her attention away from him. Impossibly, a low throb pulsed again. She couldn’t breathe. To see him slide over her skin, feel the heat, the weight of him on her body. It was just the first of her forbidden dreams…ones that started when she was nineteen. When Zach saw her as a woman, not Gregory’s annoying problem.

  No. She pushed all distractions from her mind. Focus on the now, on the here. Not those stupid thoughts whirling up from six years before.

  “So what will you do to keep my interest this time?”

  A wicked smile curved his mouth. “Where do I begin, Anna? So much to do. So little time. But I think I’ll start here again.”

  The slow trail of his mouth tracing over her stomach. Open-mouthed kisses stealing over her ribs, flickering his tongue along the underside of her breast.

  Anna hissed, caught unawares by the unexpected riot of sensation. Damn the man, his mouth should be outlawed.

  “Like that, Anna?”

  Warm breath prickled her skin, made her eyes crush against the very real need to grab him, roll him. The wantonness of her thoughts shocked her but she could feel him hard and long against her thigh. Everything in her yearned for him inside her.

  “This isn’t going to be quick. I made a promise.”

  Somewhere in her mind she heard his smile, but then that talented mouth had plans. “Zach…”

  “So impatient, Anna.”

  “I—” The curl of his tongue around her nipple had her gasping.

  “Now I know you liked that.”

  “Could you be more conceited?”

  His low chuckle made her quiver. “I could always make you beg. In fact…” The run of his hot palm over her ribs, waist, curving around her hip sent fire through Anna’s blood. “…I think I insist.”

  In that moment, everything screamed at her to do just that. Anna clung to her pride. “No games, Zach.”

  Darkness shadowed his gaze. “This isn’t a game.” The shift of his weight over her body, the warm brush of skin against skin was too much. Anna held back a groan. There was the snap of latex. “I want to know that you’re…here…with me.”

  He’d pushed against her, her hips almost bucking in response. “What more proof do you need?” The words were gasped out on too little air.

  “Say it.”

  He pushed harder and sensation screamed up her body. Not enough. Oh God, not nearly enough. Spots flickered against her eyelids, her spine arching, wanting, needing Zach to stop the torment. “What?”

  “Say that you want this.” His voice was rough, raw, his breath hot against her cheek. She was close, so very close. It had been so long. She was tight and the delicious pressure of him stretching her… “That you want…me.”

  Tremors took Anna’s body, her fingers digging into his strong muscled arms. Heat swelled through her, her flesh throbbing—

  “Say it, Anna.”

  —oh-God-oh-God-oh-God… “You. I want…”

  Zach sank deep.

  Her mind shattered. Her mouth took his, her arms crushing him, grinding against him in the fury of her overwhelmingly endless orgasm. She didn’t care. She really didn’t. It was complete insanity to want this man.

  To love him.

  The perfect clarity of that thought hit her. Swamped her with pain, with joy.

  The crush of his body, his mouth buried in her neck and the blissful, blissful thrust of his hips. Yes. Love him. For six years. Possibly forever. Deeper. Already, more sweet heat tightened her flesh.

  Deliberately, she shifted her body and he groaned, his fingers clutching at the bed sheets. Her hands found the hard muscle of his buttocks, urged him harder, faster.

  “What are you doing to me, Anna?”

  His dark, heated eyes held hers and she couldn’t help the wicked smile that cut her mouth. “I’m going to make you beg.”

  “You…”

  She took one of his nipples into her mouth and his words disintegrated. He shuddered under her touch. Muttered words, but Anna had little idea what he said. She was lost in the salty-sweet taste of his skin, the satin feel of it under grasping fingers. The way Zach groaned. And the incredible feeling of him deep, deep inside of her.

  That single thought tore another sweep of heat through her flesh, made her cling to the man who cried out her name.

  Gleaming eyes found hers, his trembling fingers stroking back her hair. “That was unfair,” he murmured. He pulled a slow kiss from her lips. He rolled them, his arms squeezing tight around her body.

  “I remembered,” she said, her mouth brushing against his collarbone, breathing in the incredible scent of his hot, damp skin. She could feel the rapid thud of his heart slowing.

  “We needed this, Anna.” The press of his lips into her hair, the intimate gesture almost making her sigh. “To clear our heads. To realise this is nothing more than a stupid physical need.”

  The softly murmured words stabbed a hole where her heart used to be. Her body froze. She had to remember it had been her free choice. And with choice came the ability to make really idiotic mistakes. Her own bitter laugh echoed in her head. No. It hadn’t been a moment of clarity. She couldn’t love him. It was the rush of lust and heat. Nothing more.

  “Anna?”

  “A lust sated.” The words were ash in her mouth. At least she hadn’t been stupid enough to say those three little words, the ones that had burned on her tongue. “I should…”

  “Where are you going?”

  Where could she go? She wanted to run away, put miles between her and the warmth of his bed, his body and the scent of their love. Sex. It was only sex. She disentangled herself from his arms, swung her legs out of the bed. Her toes dug into the soft carpet. “I always sleep alone.”

  Zach stared at the smooth run of her spine and stopped himself from scrubbing at his face. It was good that she saw it the way he did. Wasn’t it? He pulled off the condom and knotted it.

  “Very sensible,” he muttered, disappearing into the en suite.

  She was still there when he got back. Damn.

  He tugged at the sheet to cover himself. He had to get her out of the room. Because with each passing second his gaze strayed over the soft curve of her waist as it flared into her hip. And where it went, his mouth wanted to follow. He was an idiot. He had let his pride get in the way for too long. If he hadn’t, she wouldn’t have this power over him.

  “So.” He swallowed back in a dry throat. “The bedroom by the study.”

  She snorted. “You trust me now?”

  “Are you going to run, Anna?” He couldn’t stop the finger that traced the length of her spine. She quivered at his touch. “Honestly?” The agreement had been until dawn…but Anna had pulled back. Zach blinked. Had it all been an act?

  His hand dropped away.

  “If such a thing is possible,” he murmured.

  “Didn’t think you did.” Anna dropped to her knees on the floor and tugged on her dress, easing it down over her hips. She stood. The white silk almost gleamed in the low light of the room.

  “Anna, I know you too well.”

  “Of course you do,” she said. He lost her face to shadow. “And now it’s in a bed too.” She straightened. “It’s the truth that I only want my house, Zach.” She ran a hand through her hair. “And I never wanted this…mess. So I don’t regret it. But in all honesty”—the word was twisted—“I wish it had never happened.”

  Her words were a punch to his chest. Was that a dent to his pride? Women fell over themselves for him. Now this woman, who had known so many men, was comparing him to them. A hot surge of anger swept through him. “Mess?”

  Anna took a back step. Her thumb jabbed at the door behind her. “It’s been a long day, so…”

  Zach stared.
“A long day?”

  She swallowed and her attention fixed somewhere on the rumpled sheets. “Zach, this is already embarrassing enough.”

  “You were supposed to be in my bed until dawn, Anna.”

  A pale hand rubbed over her face. “I don’t think that’s wise, do you?”

  Zach knew the sensible thing would be to let her go to that other room. He wanted her. Too much. But damn it, he should be the one backing away from a clinging female. He winced at that thought. Hardly something of which to be proud. “So you always run?”

  Her dark gaze flickered over his but didn’t stay. “I told you. There has only been you.”

  “Oh please, Anna.” Zach threw away the sheet and his hand searched the floor for his underwear. “I didn’t believe it this afternoon. I’m certainly not going to believe it now.”

  “Fine. Carry on thinking exactly what you like. I’m wasting the truth on you.”

  He stood and Anna bumped back into the closed door. “You started this.” Her hand twisted hard at the handle and he couldn’t help the smile that grew. “What? Nervous, Anna?” He planted his palms on either side of her, blocking her with his body. “This is all an act, isn’t it? The naïve woman under the thumb of her sister.” Her breathing was erratic as she stared up at him. That damned herbal scent fogged his brain.

  “Six years ago.” His voice was barely above a rough whisper. “I might have thought differently. But that was before I really knew you.”

  Her body radiated heat only inches from his own, firing over his cool skin. Just a little closer. Only a little…

  “Zach?”

  Why did he want her? Was it his lot that only the most unsuitable woman would drive him insane? Maybe it was genetic. He should go back to bed, forget everything about her…but then he lost himself in her dark brown gaze. “Stay.”

  What the…? Had he just said that?

  “Stay?”

  Yes. Seemed he had. Anna swallowed and her deepened breaths pushed against him. He almost hissed at the slide of her warm silk-covered breasts over his chest. “You want to.” His hand curved against her jaw and he felt her lean into that touch. Sex. It was only ever about sex. And stupidly he didn’t care whether hers was an act. “You know you do.”