Her Innocence, His Conquest

by Jules Bennett

  So why was she so ticked?

  She slammed the door to her office, stared at the mess of sheets on the mattress where she’d slept. Alone. She’d rolled over last night and peeked from beneath her lids to see where Zach had gone. She was surprised to see him propped against the wall watching her.

  A ripple of nerves speared through her as she recalled how he’d looked with the sliver of light filtering through the cracks in the boards over the windows.

  He cared for her. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he cared. He couldn’t have been so giving, so gentle with her last night and expect nothing in return if he didn’t. He wouldn’t have stood by her side when her father showed up, then offered a shoulder to lean on if he was only out to take her virginity.

  And the mind-blowing thought that big, bad playboy Zach Marcum was growing feelings for her scared her to death. He wouldn’t like it when he realized the path his emotions had taken him down.

  Of course, she could be wrong and he treated all of his women this wonderfully. That would explain why he always had so many.

  But she didn’t think she was wrong and now she’d just have to wait and see how the rest of their time together played out.

  God help her heart when he walked away.

  Twelve

  Ana was back in her condo, freshly showered and in her cami/boyshort pajama set getting ready to comb out her hair when a knock sounded on her door.

  She laid the wide-toothed comb on the vanity in the bathroom and walked through her master bedroom and the living area to the door and peeked through the hole.

  Zach. Of course.

  Being around him all day had been fine, seeing as how her entire crew was milling about. But now he chose to come to her alone, a one-on-one meeting, when he knew she’d be more vulnerable. Fantastic.

  She opened the door, just enough for him to see her, but blocked his entry.

  “Can I come in?” he asked.

  In the span of a second, all the reasons flashed through her mind as to why he shouldn’t come in. Her state of dress, or lack thereof, the pictures she never wanted to share that she had sitting around in her bedroom. Which wouldn’t be an issue if he stayed out.

  Oh, yeah, and another reason he shouldn’t come in was the fact that she knew he’d want to discuss what had transpired between them last night and the confrontation this morning with her father. She needed armor to deal with Zach and not just in the form of more clothing.

  “Now’s not a good time.” Wasn’t that the truth?

  A corner of his sexy mouth tipped up in a grin. “If I waited for a good time, you’d never let me in.”

  Why lie? “Probably not.”

  “Please,” he said, all signs of joking aside.

  “I’m not really dressed for company,” she explained.

  “If I promise to control myself, will you let me in?”

  She wondered if he was capable of controlling himself, at the same time that she felt a bit disappointed that he wasn’t here to finish what they’d begun last night.

  What a mix of chaos her emotions were. One minute she wanted him to take her to places she’d never been and the next she wanted him to stay away.

  “Ana…”

  She bit her lip and eased the door open to allow him to pass through.

  When she turned to face him, his gaze raked over her bare legs, her bra-free chest and her wet hair. And she just knew her nipples were now puckered. Why did her body have to betray her when she was trying to stand her ground?

  Because she wanted this man. After the performance last night, she honestly wanted to see what else he would do.

  “Let me get a T-shirt,” she said, bypassing him and walking into her bedroom.

  Thankfully all of her personal pictures were kept beside her bed and on the dresser. She would just have to keep Zach in the living room.

  She grabbed an oversize T-shirt from the top dresser drawer and was just pulling it over her head when he stepped into her bedroom.

  “I didn’t mean to intrude.” He took a seat in the wing chair next to the window. “But at the site today, we didn’t have any privacy and if we had managed to steal a moment, it wouldn’t have been without interruptions.”

  Ana crossed over to him, leaned a hip against the window-sill. “I’m sorry you had to witness that not-so-pleasant family reunion this morning. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone what you overheard. My father… He has a gambling problem.”

  “I assumed as much.”

  Zach eased back in the chair, watching her. With very few words and an intense stare she knew he was listening as if he wanted to know what was going through her mind.

  No man had ever given her the kind of personal attention Zach did. God, she didn’t want to be one of those clichés. The woman who never had affection from her father fell for the first guy who showed her attention.

  But in Ana’s heart she knew, even if she’d had a father of the year as a kid, she’d still be tangled up with Zach emotionally.

  “I’m not proud of the fact I’ve always paid off his debts,” she continued, turning her gaze out the window to the bright pink sky meeting the clear blue ocean. “I only did because I love my mother and she’s been through a hellish marriage. But now that she’s left, I don’t care what happens to him.”

  Saying those words aloud was so much different than thinking them. Ana ran her hands through her tangled hair as all of her twenty-eight years of emotions bubbled to the surface. “That sounds so cruel,” she whispered, looking down to Zach. “I can’t help that I don’t love him. He never gave me a chance to. He’s my father, but he never loved me. The first time in my life he ever paid attention to me was when I started making money. He became interested in my business…or so I thought.

  “I was foolish enough to believe he saw me as an adult and we could start having a good relationship. I should’ve known better.”

  Zach reached out, took her hands in his and squeezed. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be loved by your parent, Ana. That’s something that you shouldn’t have to beg for or pay for. Ever.”

  Tears clogged her throat as her eyes began to burn. “You’re right, but that didn’t stop me from paying every time he came to me. In the back of my mind I always thought maybe this time he’s proud of me. He knows how hard I’ve worked for the money and he’s going to recognize my accomplishments.”

  Ana didn’t know why she was telling him all of this, but once she started, she couldn’t seem to stop herself.

  “You know, when I was a kid, I always wanted a dog.” She pulled her hands free from Zach’s and paced the room. “I overheard my mother begging for him to let me get one, but he told her the last thing they needed was something else depending on him.”

  Ana took a seat on the bed, crossed her legs beneath her as memories flowed out into the open. “I didn’t ask for one again because I heard my mother crying in the bathroom right after that. Even as young as I was, I knew she was the only parent who loved me, who actually cared.”

  “Why didn’t she leave him a long time ago?” Zach asked.

  Ana lifted a shoulder. “At first I think it was because she got pregnant right after they got married and she quit working for my grandfather to stay home. My grandfather, the one I would tag along with on his construction sites, was old-school. Once you’re married, you stay married, no matter what. Then as I got older, I think Mom was afraid to start a life being single, jobless and trying to take care of me. Dad still worked for Grandpa, so maybe she was just scared what that relationship would do. I honestly don’t know.”

  “What about when you moved out?”

  A question she’d asked herself many times. “I still think she was scared. She knew about his numerous affairs, his overexcessive spending habits, but she’d been living that nightmare for so long, I don’t think she thought she could do better.”

  Zach came to his feet and Ana was sure he was coming to comfort her. Instead he m
oved to the nightstand and picked up a small frame.

  She’d been so wrapped up in spilling her family secrets, she’d completely forgotten about the photos. But now Zach was holding one and no matter how much she wished she’d never let him step foot in her bedroom, she knew he’d taken an even bigger step into her heart.

  Zach studied the picture of a young, even-more-innocent Ana and a lady who undoubtedly had to be her mother. Both were smiling for the camera, but their eyes were empty.

  “You certainly take your beauty from your mother,” he told her, trying to get her to think of something more positive. “How old are you here?”

  Ana barely shot a glance at the picture he held. “Seven.”

  Gently he sat the picture back down as his eyes traveled over the others. There was another one of Ana and her mother. This time Ana was grown and the two were smiling, arm in arm sitting on the beach.

  But it was the picture of Ana as a young child that captured his attention.

  “This your grandfather?” he asked, pointing to the aged photo.

  Ana turned and smiled at the picture as if she were looking at the actual man in the photo. “Yeah. He was the best.”

  Zach smiled at the toddler sitting on a bulldozer, with red ringlets poking beneath a scratched-up hard hat. Her grandfather stood beside the machine, securing little Ana with one large tanned hand on her dimpled knees.

  “He taught me everything I know,” she told him. “I’ve never felt more alone than when he passed. It was hard for me to keep working, knowing I couldn’t run to him for advice. My mother took his death the hardest, though. She truly was alone because my father was never around and I was off hopping from site to site.”

  Ready to make the next paycheck to send to her father to keep his habit going and keep a roof over her mother’s head. Zach knew what she was thinking, but he wasn’t going to intervene on this shaky ground.

  “Nothing you can do about it now,” he told her, trying to get that sad look from her eyes even if he had to make her angry at him. Anger he could deal with. Remorse and sadness, not so much. “Don’t beat yourself up on someone else’s mistakes.”

  She jerked her chin up, her eyes to him. “I’m not beating myself up. But I do get upset when I think of all my mother has gone through because my father couldn’t control himself…in any way.”

  “She’s a grown woman, responsible for her own actions, Ana.” Zach eased down onto the bed beside her. “You’re not helping anyone, especially yourself, by being depressed about this. You held your ground with your father today and he’ll either straighten up or he’ll pay the consequences. Either way, it’s out of your hands.”

  She stared at him for a moment before coming to her feet and crossing to the window. With her back turned Zach couldn’t help but allow his gaze to rake over all that delicate skin and the skimpy shorts that fit perfectly over her bottom.

  Ironic that he’d never wanted anyone more than Anastasia. Yet here they were in her bedroom with the orange glow from the setting sun creating the perfect ambiance, and her wearing next to nothing, and they were only talking.

  Yeah, this had never happened to him before. He’d come here to have another intimate encounter to get her to trust him a bit more. He had no idea he’d get in on an emotional battle she was waging with herself.

  Personal issues were not things he ever allowed himself to get involved in with a woman. Families were messy, complicated—two things he didn’t need when seducing a woman. He liked simple and straightforward.

  “I’m sorry,” she said in a soft voice, still keeping her back to him. “I didn’t mean to just have an emotional dump. But with Dad’s visit today, I’m just not the best company.”

  “Then let’s talk about last night.”

  Zach watched her back stiffen, her body freeze as if she was holding her breath.

  “What’s to discuss?” she asked. “It happened, it won’t again, so let’s move on.”

  He came to his feet, slowly closing the distance between them. “When you talk fast like that, I know you’re nervous which makes me believe you don’t really mean what you just said.”

  She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes finding his. “You don’t have to remind me again about this attraction, and yes, last night proves it. But we’re different, Zach. I do require some commitment and even if I didn’t, I can’t split my time between the largest project I’ve ever taken on and something so personal and intimate all at once.”

  “That’s why I’m perfect for you.” He placed his hands on her slender shoulders and turned her to face him. “I’m here for you on both fronts. Ana, I’m persistent, you know that. Why fight what we both want? We’ll sleep together by the end of the project anyway. Prolonging the inevitable won’t change the outcome.”

  Her creamy cheeks reddened. “I don’t know why I find myself wanting you. You’re sexy, and you’ve always been right by me when I’ve needed you, but then you pull out this arrogance that I can’t stand and remind me of all the reasons I don’t want to like you.”

  Tugging on her gently until she fell against his chest, Zach looked down into her eyes. “I don’t care if you like me, Anastasia. I care if you want me.”

  He crushed his lips to hers, not taking the time to be gentle, just demanding. He knew no other way.

  She’d driven him crazy for weeks. He was hanging on by the proverbial thread.

  Ana ran her hands through his hair, holding him in place, as if he were going to go anywhere. She groaned when he nipped at her lips and then dove back in for more.

  Yeah, there was no way this urge to have her would just disappear if they ignored it. His desire for her grew each time he saw her, touched her.

  Zach’s hands roamed down her back to cup her backside through the long T-shirt and boyshorts. What he wouldn’t give to rip off all their clothes and show her just how arrogant he was. He wasn’t laid-back, certainly never had been in an intimate setting, but Ana needed someone in her life to be. And, dammit if he wouldn’t be that man.

  Much as it pained him, literally, Zach eased back, moving his hands back to her shoulders to steady her.

  “You don’t need this now,” he told her, never hating himself more for having morals.

  She blinked in confusion. “Yes, I think I do.”

  As if she’d taken her small hand and clutched his heart, Zach felt the pressure deep in his chest. “You think. That’s not enough. When you know for certain, come find me.”

  Zach turned, walked out of the condo and to the elevator before the ramifications of what he’d just turned down hit him.

  Ana offering herself with no promises of commitment or questions about tomorrow.

  He’d never turned down a woman he was interested in. Ever.

  Obviously in his attempt to sneak past her line of defense, she’d gotten by his without so much as a warning.

  He’d wanted to get past the complications of Melanie trying to wedge her way back into his life. Well, his wish came true. Now he just had an even bigger complication in the form of a fiery redhead with a tool belt.

  Thirteen

  After four infuriating weeks, Ana was ready to choke Zach Marcum. It was either that or drag him into her office and make him finish what he’d started on his motorcycle a month ago. What had he called it? A Screamin’ Eagle? What an appropriate place to have such a memorable sexual experience.

  How dare he assume that just because she wanted him that she’d act on her feelings? Granted, had he not pulled back in her condo, she would’ve consented to anything and everything he wanted. She’d been a vulnerable, emotional basket case.

  But he’d gone and shocked her by leaving. Ana had no doubt he’d shocked himself as well. The evil part of her hoped he’d suffered because of his gallant effort to make sure she was certain about taking the next step.

  As she thought about him, Ana fingered the invitation for the wedding shower today. For some insane reason, Kayla had invited Ana to Tamera
’s bridal shower.

  Silly, really. She barely knew Tamera, since she’d dealt with mostly Zach. But Kayla had been so thrilled with the whole ice cream social idea, she’d insisted on inviting Ana. How out of place would that feel? What on earth did she have in common with any of these socialites? She was a forewoman. She didn’t get weekly manis and pedis, she didn’t visit a salon on a regular basis to tame her curls and she certainly didn’t have the pedigree she was sure the women at the party had.

  She was just a simple girl from the Midwest who just so happened to catch the eyes of several architectural firms and built her career one beam at a time. There was nothing fancy, nothing special, and certainly nothing glamorous about her.

  So why was she standing in front of the floor-length mirror in her bedroom running a hand down one of the last dresses in her closet? The knee-length purple strapless would be okay for a wedding shower. Wouldn’t it?

  Rolling her eyes at her preposterous way of thinking and for always second-guessing herself, Ana grabbed her gift and purse and set out for what was sure to be an interesting day.

  When Ana stepped from the building, ready to ask the valet to fetch her a cab, a driver stepped from a sleek, black Jag and rounded the hood with a smile.

  “Miss Clark?”

  Smiling in return, Ana nodded. “Yes.”

  “Mr. Marcum sent me.” He opened the rear door and gestured her in. “He told me you were attending a party and wanted to make sure you got there and back with no problem.”

  Stunned, Ana stood rooted in place for a moment, then stepped toward the car. “Zach sent you to take me?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Just another check on Zach’s gentleman list. Seriously, if the man didn’t want women falling head over heels, why on earth did he insist on doing such romantic gestures? She needed to put a stop to this and soon. But that was certainly not an issue she’d take up with the friendly driver.