“Keep talking,” he said.
“Wow, the mighty Zach Tanner is willing to listen. That’s a first.”
“Sure thing. If it’ll get you to stop denying the truth, I’m all ears.” He’d listen long enough to figure out how to deal with his current state of arousal. And hers. Then maybe he’d figure out how to deal with the fact that he’d missed her more than he’d expected. Hell, he missed more than the sex, he missed the friendship they’d once shared. Today had only reinforced it. Now he was kicking himself in the proverbial gut for damning them both to a fake fairy tale hell.
“If I were to sleep with you again, I’d expect you to treat me like all the women you’ve dated since we broke up.” She flipped her vibrant hair over her shoulders and placed her hand on her hip. “I’d want formal dates—a real seduction.”
A flash of something wild and savage and primal glittered in Kennedy’s slanted emerald eyes. Here was the woman Zach had pursued, caught, and with whom he finally shared boundless passion. She’d once challenged him to unearth the sensual, feminine seductress hiding behind the rough tomboy talk and construction boot swagger.
That she’d kept tabs on him during the years since they’d broken up surprised him. He thought she hadn’t cared. Now he knew differently. That unnerved him. And it confused the shit out of him. He’d gone to extreme lengths to force her to admit that she still wanted him, but in the process had he lost a chance for a real reunion?
But the question was moot. He’d made a commitment to his father and he refused to give up the recognition he’d finally received from the man.
“We don’t have time for dating,” he said. “We’re here for Michael.”
“Exactly.” Kennedy’s hair tumbled around her face, and her floral dress’s short hemline shimmied across her long, curvaceous legs. “And he’s happy now. But what happens after we ‘break up?’ We have got to find a way to be friends again for his sake.”
Zach’s heart thundered in his ears, lust slammed him low and deep, everything in him wanted to take her. End this madness now. Release them from the torturous longing. Without the romancing she demanded. Then he wouldn’t have to examine the reasons behind the wanting.
He clasped his hands behind his back. Inhaled deeply, then released his breath. His racing pulse slowed to a notch above normal.
He swallowed hard. “I’ll take you on dates,” he said. “But nothing will change the fact that I’m leaving in January.”
He watched the flush creeping up her neck. She was as physically aware of him now as she had been five years ago.
“The last thing I want is for you to stay,” she answered, not breaking her eye contact. “I’m doing this to protect Michael. No way do I want to disappoint him.”
“We’re even on that score,” Zach said. “I want him to focus on getting well, not to dwell on matchmaking screwups.”
“Maybe we all would have been better off if he had never introduced us in the first place,” Kennedy said, her eyes blazing bright. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to take a bath. Solo.” She turned and walked into the bathroom, leaving him standing in the room’s suite.
Zach was completely alone. Completely aroused. And completely unable to act on the need pulsing deep in his groin. Even worse, a primitive, primal yearning, beyond taking Kennedy physically, coursed through his veins.
This woman. This bold, brilliant, bewildering woman had been the catalyst for all the changes he’d made five years ago. He’d claimed the power his father had offered and had expanded Tanner Enterprises into a multi-billion dollar conglomerate. Everything he’d acquired during the time they’d been apart was supposed to fix his wounded soul. Kennedy’s rejection after they’d lost their baby so late in the pregnancy had shattered him. How could he still care after what she’d said to him? Yes, he wanted her in his bed again. But acting on that desire without knowing why Kennedy had driven him away wouldn’t give him what he wanted most.
The truth.
He wanted her to tell him why she’d ended their relationship without giving them a second chance.
Zach touched the cool, uninviting bronze handle and pressed his forehead against the bathroom’s mahogany door. Closing his eyes, he inhaled a whisper of her floral scent. A scent with a sensual and seductive allure designed to ensnare a man. A scent he’d given to her as a gift years ago.
A scent she’d continued to use long after their breakup.
His pulse increased. Why Kennedy had chosen to surround herself with things that reminded her of their relationship mystified him. Restless, wanting and needing her in ways he’d never expected, Zach tamped down the urge to bust through the door and gain entry into her temporary sanctuary. He pushed away from the door, walked to the room’s computer desk and buried himself in plans, calculations, and corporate directives.
But work had no power to quench his raging desire for Kennedy.
Nor did the vision emerging from the bathroom an hour later.
…
By asking for dates with Zach versus yielding to her body’s demand for a fast, let’s-get-this-over-with lovemaking session, Kennedy had created additional personal sexual frustration. Her bath had done little to ease her mounting tension. After she’d dried off and dressed, her frustration doubled. And it tripled as soon as she stepped out of the bathroom into the suite’s low amber light and saw Zach.
He’d rolled up his shirtsleeves and loosened additional shirt buttons. His left forearm muscle rippled as his pen scritch-scratched across the legal pad. The computer’s screen halo circled around him, giving him a sheen of strength and vitality.
His brown eyes focused on the pages and his brow was slightly furrowed, just begging for a smoothing hand. Oh, a small part of her longed to bridge the distance of time to be that soothing comfort.
In honesty, that same small part longed to lose all the seriousness underlying their day with a sensual, playful coupling. But Zach had cornered her into accepting this ridiculous engagement and she refused to cave in to her hormones’ baser demands.
Kennedy twisted her robe’s turquoise ties into a half bowknot. “The bathroom’s all yours,” she said.
He glanced away from his computer and gazed down the length of her body. “Nice robe. You hiding anything special beneath it?”
A sharp ache tugged low in her belly, then coiled deeper inside her. She had never worn the satin slips of decadence she’d chosen to wear tonight for their original purpose—a Tuscan honeymoon. They’d remained buried in the darkest corner of her closet until she’d packed them for this trip.
She suppressed a sigh, then tilted her chin a notch. “Sure am.”
“Enjoy yourself in there?” he asked.
He sounded detached, but she could see the muscle jumping in his jaw and the movement of his mouth as he struggled to control his physical reaction.
And his eyes, dark and delicious, couldn’t hide his masculine interest.
Nor his sinful, seductive suggestion.
Her freshly scrubbed skin tingled.
Don’t delude yourself. He’s tougher and edgier. You can’t give yourself to him no matter how much you want him. Not now.
“The jets worked their magic,” she said, crossing her fingers behind her back. Her bath hadn’t relaxed her one bit. Instead of washing away her concerns, she’d stoked other memories while lingering inside the Jacuzzi’s swirling waters.
Memories that included Zach, the hot springs, and steamy, intimate encounters.
He folded his arms behind his head and lifted his brows. “Glad the jets got lucky.”
She clenched her fists, unfurled the digits one at a time, and then injected a light airy tone into her voice. “Bed or couch?”
Without speaking, he indicated the couch.
“Great. You need anything from the bedroom before you turn in?”
“No.” He leaned back. “Not unless you’re offering to share the sheets.”
“Hardly.”
“You might change your
mind after our date tomorrow.”
“That would take a lot of convincing, Tanner.” She worked her way to the bedroom door. “I’m hitting the hotel’s exclusive boutiques tomorrow with Hannah after we have breakfast with Michael.”
His smile didn’t expose his teeth. “Excellent idea. I’ll make sure they’ve got one of everything in your size.”
“You trying to impress me?” she asked, putting a hand on her hip.
“No. Just making sure you have a good experience.”
A note of sexual suggestion underscored his tone. Her heart flipped and every desperate girl part zipped into a happy dance. Dear lord, resisting him when he was so damned accommodating would be difficult. “I’ll have loads of fun spending your money.” She pressed a hand against her chest, willing her racing heart to slow. “Where are you taking me?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“Surprise being code for you haven’t worked out the details yet.”
“You know me well.”
Anticipation shimmered along her nerve endings. Again she tamped down her traitorous body’s response. “And you never failed to deliver,” she said.
“This package is worth waiting for,” he said.
There was more than teasing in his voice. There was rough, raw passion. Passion she had once harnessed. “I hope you’ve learned to practice patience.” She tossed her damp hair. “Good night Zach.”
After she slipped inside the bedroom and closed the door, she rested against the cool wood. She doubted either of them would have a good night given the tension pulsing between them. She stomped to the king-sized bed, tugged off her robe, and crawled beneath the sheets.
Chapter Eight
The following Saturday morning Hannah and Michael had teased Kennedy and Zach about their shadowed, dull eyes and slower than usual pace. Kennedy had played along and laughed at the appropriate times with Zach. But after an afternoon of shopping for trinkets, baubles, and designer outfits she would rarely wear, her brain hurt more than her sore feet. She didn’t like lying to her friends, but she couldn’t bear to hurt them with the truth.
She carried her bags to the room and dropped them by the front door. Toeing off her favorite shoes, she heard soft instrumental music and inhaled the scent of melting wax before catching sight of Zach standing by the bar.
Her pulse jumped in her throat. His broad shoulders filled his suit to perfection. The expensive cut and color of the fabric accented his mahogany colored eyes. And vases—more than she could count and all filled with colorful gerbera daisies—crowded the suite’s interior. Daisies were her favorite. She’d always preferred simple flowers above the opulence of roses.
He’d brought her spring. Her number one rated season. A season for new beginnings. New life. New hope.
“What’s all this?” she asked.
“You asked for romance.” Zach lifted a champagne bottle out of the silver bucket on the counter and deftly popped the cork. With typical flare, he didn’t lose a drop of the expensive bubbles. “I’m giving you romance.”
The setting sun in the distance cast a golden glow in the room, illuminating his light chestnut hair, the fine cut of his chiseled jawline, and the sensual shape of his mouth. His very kissable and sexy mouth.
Kennedy glided through the valley of bright yellows, vivid corals, shocking pinks, dazzling turquoise, and lustrous red petals. “You certainly know how to impress a girl,” she said when she reached his side.
He poured the effervescent liquid into crystal champagne flutes, then indicated the strawberries, green grapes, and apple slices. “I thought you’d need a pick me up before we went out tonight. I know how much you love spring.”
“They’re beautiful.” She took the champagne glass and his fingertips brushed hers, sparking desire. “This is just what I needed.” Her voice rang a low and sultry bell in her ears. His generosity took her breath away.
As did the man standing across from her.
His broad shoulders and muscular physique overwhelmed the hotel suite. The final beams of the setting sun cast light and shadows over his handsome face. She inhaled his clean, masculine scent. He smelled delicious and decadent. He was beautiful, beyond refined, and tantalizingly male.
He plated a serving of fruit. “Eat before your blood sugar plummets and changes you from Cinderella to Groucherina.”
A muscle twitched in his cheek. A rough, gravelly tone undercut his attempt at humor. Kennedy suppressed a nervous giggle and nibbled on the fruit.
“How was your afternoon?” she asked.
“Grueling.” He swirled the liquid in his glass. “Michael’s difficult to keep in the dark. I spent the better part of the day redirecting his attention to Sweetbriar Springs and our renovations. Yours?”
“Hannah needed the break.” She lifted a strawberry off the platter. “I’m glad I could make her laugh.” Deflection. Humor. She’d used it all to keep things light for her friend. “I asked her to manage the resort’s wellness spa when it opens.”
“She agree?”
“Yes,” Kennedy said. “Hannah’s ready to come home where she can spend more time with the people who matter instead of the people who don’t.”
“She’s a good sister.”
“She’s a good friend, too.” But something had happened to Hannah in Los Angeles, something dark that haunted her eyes whenever Hannah didn’t think Kennedy was paying attention. “I’m happy she’s here even if it is hard to lie to her.”
Zach scrubbed his hand through his hair. “Don’t I know it.”
Kennedy wanted to slip her free hand under the tuxedo jacket and caress his waist, turn into his arms and end their mutual stress with her touch. But she’d asked Zach for more than a physical release, wanting to find a way to bridge the gap between them without risking her heart. If they could have friendship again, maybe they could move on without carrying all the guilt and pain of their loss.
“Hannah told me all Michael cares about is saving Sweetbriar Springs and raising research money to discover a cure for ALS,” she said softly. “And of course, making sure we’re all one big happy group again.”
Zach nodded. “Yeah. Can’t fault him for wanting to recapture the good old days when you consider what he’s facing. Hell, I miss those days, too. I want him to fight for his health.”
“He’s always been tough,” Kennedy said. “I guess that’s why it took so long for the symptoms to catch up with him.”
“That’s why he’s an excellent candidate for the medical research program in Biostem’s clinical research trial at Tallahassee’s hospital,” Zach said.
Kennedy clasped the tender stem and sipped. The bubbles tickled her nose, sparkled away the tension she’d felt creeping into her spine during the hours she’d posed as Zach’s happy fiancée. “I’m so glad he’s going for it,” she said. “It means the disease’s progression might slow. And that’ll give him more time to use his Olympian record as a way to bring attention to his cause. Also, he needs something besides our reunion to focus on.”
“Unfortunately, Michael’s not that easily distracted.”
A frisson of suspicion curled around her spine. She’d always recognized when Zach was hedging for an angle, whether he was negotiating a deal or manipulating a personal situation.
Kennedy read serious manipulation in his stance. “What do you mean?” she asked, putting her glass on the bar’s gleaming wood.
He raised his left hand in mock surrender. “Michael’s stubborn. He kept hammering for me to tell him our wedding date. I fudged the truth.”
A sharp pain shot up the back of her head and popped in her temples. “The truth is we’re not getting married. How the hell did you fudge that, Tanner?” she asked.
His Adam’s apple rose and fell. “He’s looking forward to our wedding in June.”
Kennedy flattened her fingers to the sides of her head and weaved her hands through her hair. Disbelief, dismay, and disillusionment dropped a sick feeling into her stomach.
She’d asked for friendship, had briefly fantasized about him putting her needs first, but he hadn’t changed one bit.
She catapulted her desolation into the air crackling between them with a raised voice. “So the daisies and the food and the champagne? They were just to mellow me out before your confession?”
…
An array of emotions crossed Kennedy’s exquisite features. Anger pinched her full lips into a razor thin edge. Disappointment grooved furrows in her brow. And behind it all, sadness flashed in her lustrous jade-green eyes.
Her emotional pain undid him in ways he had no intention of admitting. Not to her. Not to himself.
Her voice raised another decibel. “What was it Michael once said to me? Oh, yeah. I remember now.” She tapped her temple with her finger. “Zach Tanner always wins an argument.”
Kennedy was right. He rarely lost an argument. In fact, he’d been scoring perfect tens in that department until he’d met her. Then he’d gone on to lose the battle of a lifetime. And he sure as hell wasn’t going to revisit that nightmare. Feigning nonchalance, he crossed his arms and leaned against the bar. “I had to tell him something to keep his mind off his legs not moving at all in the near future.”
But she was wrong about why he had filled the room with her favorite flowers. He’d wanted to see her reaction when she walked inside the room and saw the brightly colored daisies. The money he’d spent had been worth the delight and the warmth that had sparkled in her eyes.
He pulled in a lungful of air and slowly released a deep breath. That he’d wanted to please her was a revelation he refused to examine any further.
She twisted her emerald round and round her index finger. “What happens when June rolls around and my daddy’s not walking me down the aisle?”
Neither of them had to voice their concern about whether Michael would still be able to share their lives in June, which would make a faux wedding a moot point.
The pounding of his heart grew louder in his ears. “Relax.” He held his palms up in mock surrender. “I didn’t tell him the year.”
“Brilliant,” she said, still twirling the emerald. “We’ll just keep on pretending we’re in love and planning a wedding that’ll never happen until…” Her voice trailed off and she blinked rapidly.
The Maverick's Red Hot Reunion (Entangled Indulgence) Page 8