Lila’s house was tucked into a cute neighborhood of older homes. She gave him directions in that quiet, direct voice of hers, which let him know she hadn’t changed her mind. This woman was an enigma and it had been a long time since he’d allowed himself to be drawn into something like this. He stopped at a convenience store and ran in for protection along the way. Then a short time later found himself pulling into the alleyway that led to the garage at the back of her house.
“The garage door opener is in my car. Let me go inside and I’ll open it for you, so you won’t have to park in the driveway.”
“Trying to keep me a secret?” he asked. A little bit because he wasn’t sure if she was embarrassed to sleep with him and a little bit because it sort of seemed like something she’d do. Lila was a private person by nature. He suspected she wouldn’t want her neighbors to know about them.
“Yes. My mom is good friends with Mrs. Anderson, who lives one street over, and if she spots a car in my drive in the morning my mom will hightail it over here.”
He wouldn’t mind meeting Lila’s mother but he wasn’t sure the morning after was going to be the best time for that introduction. “Go on and open the door.”
She hopped out of the Ferrari and opened the wooden gate on her fence. A few moments passed before he heard the garage door open, and then he pulled in and parked before getting out of the car. Her garage was super neat with metal shelving on one wall and well-labeled tubs on each shelf. She opened the door to the house and stood there watching him as she closed the garage door.
He swung his keys around on his finger and realized he was nervous about the emotions she stirred in him. Not about the sex. Sex he could handle. But nervous that the real Lila hadn’t really changed enough yet. That if he slept with this woman she was going to change him.
“This is very organized.”
“I’m sure your garage is, as well.”
“Actually, it is. I have several cars that I keep in it so it’s large. I also have a driver and a mechanic back in LA who maintain everything so it’s neat, but I’m not responsible.”
“Fair enough,” she said. “Want to come in or are you going to keep admiring my garage?”
“I want to come in...if you still want me to.”
“I haven’t changed my mind. Have you?” she asked. “I know I’m not your usual glam girl.”
“No, you aren’t.” Zach was beginning to see the chink in his plan. He had been trying to change her, make her into someone who looked like the women he normally associated with, never noticing that he wasn’t changing the woman inside. She was so much more than those self-absorbed women who were sort of mirror images of him. Wanting to be famous, craving some kind of influence over the world around them and seeking just the pleasure of the moment.
Lila had substance.
He had to remind himself that she was different. Because he didn’t want to be the same with her as he’d been with everyone else. But could he change?
Did he really want to?
Or was this feeling just something new that once he’d experienced it would fade?
“So...”
“I haven’t changed my mind,” he reassured her.
“Then come on in, ZB,” she said, stepping back and holding open the door.
ZB.
Zach walked in and put his keys on the round wood-and-tile table in the breakfast nook. A lot of lovers had called him that before, but he didn’t want her to. Hell. This right here was what he’d been hoping to avoid. Maybe once they had sex he’d regain his perspective.
“Don’t call me ZB. Unless... Are you hoping to have sex with ZB?” he asked.
She shook her head, her long ponytail bouncing. “No. But I’m nervous. You’ve had a revolving door on your bedroom forever—not judging you, but I’ve only had sex three times. And let’s just say it was sort of beige.”
“I can promise tonight won’t be beige.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear it. Zach, are you sure about this?”
“This? Sex or something more?” he asked.
“Sex. This can’t be something more. You are not staying in Royal and I am. I want... This is fun, and you turn me on. I like who I am with you.”
“Good,” he said. “I like who you are with me, too.”
He took off his suit jacket and hung it over the back of the chair and then toed off his shoes. Leaving them next to the same chair he’d hung his jacket on. “Give me the tour?”
“The tour? Sure. It’s not fancy like your place.”
“You’re not me, so I wouldn’t expect it to be,” he said, putting his hand on the small of her back as she turned. She’d said she was nervous and that bothered him. Sex should be fun, hot, exciting...no place for nerves. He knew he was going to have to put her at ease and luckily, he was good at that.
She sort of half turned so that her shoulder brushed against his chest and then she put her soft, delicate hand on him. “This is the kitchen... I was really excited about the double ovens when I saw this place and pretty much that’s why I bought it.”
“Double ovens?”
She sighed. “I like to bake. This way I can do bread in one oven and cookies or cakes in the other.”
He leaned down closer to her as she tipped her head back and their eyes met. She was shy about her life around him, and he knew that was his fault. He’d pointed out how her social media stream made her seem, well, boring. But he knew she was anything but.
He rubbed his thumb over her cheek and knew he had to keep his guard up with her. She was already making him think and feel things that were unexpected. He wondered if he would need reminding that this was just sex.
Because when she talked about baking and he looked at her sweet, cozy house, he realized that she’d stirred some long-forgotten dream in the back of his mind. So much of Lila was tied to Royal and when she talked about the town, she made him see it through her eyes. A dream that was foreign and not his reality. But when he was holding this beautiful woman in his arms, he craved it.
* * *
Lila’s nerves dissipated as soon as Zach touched her. She’d never been wishy-washy about what she wanted. And she definitely wanted Zach. The more time she spent with him the more dimensions she was coming to realize he had. He was so much more than the bad boy with the millions of followers on social media. He was complex and caring. Charming and sexy. And way more real than she’d have expected.
There was something so solid about him, and while showing him her kitchen wasn’t exactly what she’d had in mind when she’d invited him back to her place, it was giving her the time she needed to shake off the lingering anxiety that had been plaguing her since she’d realized that her neighbors might see his car.
Not that she cared what anyone else thought.
But so much of her time with Zach had been played out in the spotlight that she wanted this night just for the two of them.
He leaned in and she could smell the mint on his breath that she’d seen him pop in his mouth when they’d gotten off the plane. He had the softest lips but his mouth was firm. Out of all the men she’d kissed he was the best. And there was something about how his mouth moved over hers that made her stop thinking and just want to let herself go.
He kissed her slowly, as if there were no time and nothing existed outside of her and him and this moment. And for the first time in her life, she shut off the running list inside her mind. Instead, she put her hand on the side of his neck, her fingers brushing the thick hair at the back of his head.
She didn’t have to hurry through this in case he came to too quickly or changed his mind. Zach wasn’t going anywhere tonight. Tonight he was hers and she wanted to use every moment of that time. Experience everything he had to give her.
He put his arm around her waist and pulled her more fully into his body. Lila felt his strength as his biceps flex
ed and he turned until he was leaning against the island in the middle of her kitchen. She was sort of reclining on him, her arms around his neck, her breasts pillowed on his chest and her hips resting against him.
She felt his erection against the bottom of her stomach and she remembered that shirtless picture of him that she’d seen when scrolling through his social media feed. He was totally ripped...swole in the best way possible. And she wanted to see him naked in her kitchen.
She stepped back and he raised both eyebrows at her.
“Would you mind taking off your shirt? I want to see if you look as good in real life as you do in your photos.”
He threw his head back and laughed as his hands went to the buttons of his shirt. “I look better.”
She bet he did. There was no shame in Zach and he undid the buttons of his shirt with a casual elegance that turned her on as she watched those long fingers moving down the front of his body. He let the sides hang open, giving her a tantalizing glimpse of his rock-hard abs and muscled pectorals as he undid the cuffs. And then he shrugged out of his shirt and once again walked over to one of the kitchen chairs and draped it carefully over the back.
He turned to face her. Putting one hand on his hip as he stood there. Flexed and waiting. “What do you think?”
“Me-ow!” she said. “You are better in person.”
“Yeah, because you can touch me.”
“I can,” she murmured, walking over to him. His expensive cologne was subtle and delicious, she thought, breathing in the scent. She reached out to touch him, drawing her finger over the pads of muscles on his chest. His flat, brown nipples hardened as she drew her finger over his skin. He had a light dusting of hair on his chest and she brushed her fingers over it, following the path over his abs and to his belt buckle.
She noticed the bulge against the front of his pants and reached down to stroke him through the fabric. He reached for the button at the back of the halter top she wore and she felt him undo it before he drew the hem of the blouse up and over her head. Then he folded it in half and set it on the table next to them.
He touched her then. Using his forefinger, drawing it down over her collarbone, following the lacy fabric of her bra as he skimmed his touch over the globes of her breasts and then lower over her stomach to her belly button, where she had a piercing. He fondled the diamond stud she had there.
“This is surprising.”
“I guess there is a lot about me you don’t know,” she said. But she was the first to admit that she wasn’t at her wittiest right now. Her heart was beating faster and faster with anticipation and really all she wanted to do was get naked and feel him moving inside her.
“Babe, you’re not telling me the news. I think I could spend a month of nights with you and still not have you figured out.”
Ditto. But this wasn’t about figuring each other out. This was about being young and living in the moment instead of always trying to be the smart, sensible woman.
She took his hand in hers. “Want to see the master bedroom?”
“Yes,” he said, following her as she led him through the formal living room to her bedroom.
* * *
Lila’s bedroom was large and decorated in the same cozy style as the rest of her house. She had a queen-size sleigh bed with a summer-patterned quilt on it. Next to the bed was a table with an antique lamp and over the headboard was a photograph of Texas bluebonnets in a field. She had hit the overhead light when they came into the room and the ceiling fan turned on with it. She had a hope chest at the end of her bed.
The room smelled of gardenias. She toed off her shoes and then reached for the side zipper of her pants and let them slide down her thighs. He stopped looking around her room, fixated by her long legs, her curvy hips and the tiny bikini underwear that matched the icy green bra she still wore. She had a nipped-in waist and a small pouch of a stomach, but she was fit and she was clearly comfortable with her body.
He took the box of condoms he’d picked up and tossed them on the bed behind her while he removed his socks and then undid his belt and looked around for someplace to put his clothes. Opting to just drop them on the floor, he flung them down, then stalked toward Lila, taking her in his arms. He skimmed his hands down her back and felt the goose bumps on her skin as he caressed her.
Her fingers were chilly against his chest as she ran them down his stomach and he felt her fingers at the button of his pants. She undid it and then the zipper followed a moment later and they fell down his legs. He didn’t wear underwear, which he could tell surprised her as she gasped when she touched his naked erection.
She tipped her head back and he took her mouth again as she wrapped her hand around his shaft, stroking him. He undid the clasp of her bra and then tugged the garment from her body before pulling her back into his arms. He felt her hard nipples against his chest and she shifted her torso, wriggling against him. He reached down, pushing his hands inside the back of her bikini panties to cup her naked butt, lifting her off her feet and rubbing his hard-on against her.
Then he turned, walking backward until he felt the edge of her mattress against the back of his thighs, and sat down on the bed. She stood there in front of him, lips swollen from his kisses, her chest rising and falling with each breath she took. Then she pushed her underwear down her thighs and stepped out of them as he reached for the box of condoms and put one on.
She licked her lips as she watched him and he groaned, feeling himself harden even more. He reached for her hip, pulled her toward him. “Straddle me.”
She did. He groaned as he felt her warm, hot center rubbing over his abdomen and then over his shaft. He held her butt in his hands and pulled her toward him as he shifted his hips until he was poised at the entrance of her body. She put her hands on his shoulders and their eyes met and something electric passed between them. That he hadn’t been expecting, but she smiled at him as she straddled him, slowly lowering herself until he was deep inside her. He pulled her head to his and thrust his tongue deep in her mouth as she started moving up and down.
He let her set the pace for as long as he could but soon her thrusts weren’t enough and he needed more. Needed to be deeper inside her. He shifted back on the bed.
“Wrap your legs around me,” he commanded.
She did and he lay back and then rolled over so she was under him. Lila raised both eyebrows at him and he could tell she was going to say something, but he couldn’t talk. Not now. Now he needed to have every part of her. He took her mouth with his. Then he cupped her breasts, flicking his thumb over her nipple as he drove himself deeper and deeper into her.
She clung to him, her nails digging into his back as she arched under him. And he kept thrusting, propelling them both higher and higher until she tore her mouth from his and screamed his name as her body started to tighten around his. He pounded into her harder and deeper until his orgasm washed over him and he collapsed against her. Careful to brace himself on his arms so he didn’t crush her.
She wrapped her arms and legs around him and held him to her until their hearts stopped racing. Then he rolled to his side and pulled her close. Cradling her against him, he stroked her back. And as she ran her finger in a random pattern over his body, and he found himself listening to the sound of her breathing, a feeling of peace washed over him.
She didn’t say anything, which was telling, he thought. She always had something to say and he wondered if it was a good or a bad thing. But he was afraid to find out.
He who had never let anything scare him was afraid of what he’d see when he looked in Lila’s eyes. When had she wielded this power over him? He hadn’t remembered giving it to her.
He was fixing her. She was his project.
She propped her chin on her fist and looked up into his eyes, and he realized that no matter what he’d been telling himself, tonight had been about more than sex. And he
had no idea what to do about that.
EIGHT
Lila woke up alone in her bed the next morning. She knew she shouldn’t be surprised and told herself that she was cool with it. But she knew she wasn’t. She had a text from Zach on her phone telling her he looked forward to seeing her later that morning when she met with the glam squad.
She read the message several times, looking for some nuance that she might be missing, but the truth was she was a little pissed that he’d left and simply texted her. Why didn’t he stay?
Oh, hell. How was she going to get to work? She’d left her car at Zach’s place. This was...a mess. She had a feeling she was going to have to call her parents and ask them to give her a ride.
No.
That wasn’t happening. She wasn’t going to call them.
Coffee first, then she’d figure this out.
When she got to the kitchen there was a pastry box on the counter next to a ZB coffee mug and a handwritten note.
You were sleeping so solidly I didn’t want to wake you, but I figured you needed your car—it’s in your garage. Also you probably didn’t want the neighbors to see me leaving. Wish I could be here with you to share these croissants.
ZB
Well...okay. So maybe he wasn’t a total douchebag. Lila opened the box and saw there were two freshly made croissants. She put the pod in to make her coffee and went to check for her car, which was in her spot. Her keys were on the breakfast table, so she knew he’d taken them to bring it back.
That was a lot of work for early in the morning. It was a nice gesture and she tried not to read too much into it but he’d totally changed her Friday from manic and crazy to a good one. She ate the buttery croissant, which was delicious with her coffee, and then got ready for the day.
She was smiling as she left her house and realized that Zach was responsible for today’s good mood. It wasn’t just the fact that she was wearing the new clothes that he’d helped her pick out the day before and...damn. Was she supposed to take a photo of the breakfast? Or the outfit? She was going to need some advice. She phoned her office and told them she’d be out until lunchtime at a meeting and drove to Zach’s place.
Harlequin Desire June 2021--Box Set 1 of 2 Page 8