He went over to her and settled himself on top of her soft body, his head nestled between her breasts. He could hear the steady beating of her heart and it soothed him. She was right when she accused him of being restless last night. He was restless and it was because of her.
He didn’t enter relationships. He didn’t have affairs that lasted more than a few days. It was too much work, led to too many complications, but the more time he spent with her the more he found himself wanting to be with her. Thirty days in the presence of this woman wasn’t enough.
But it was affecting him, his work, who he thought he was as man, or at least the man he’d worked so hard to become. She had nailed him this morning when she told him to let her miss him. It was as if she knew he was going to distance himself from her so he could get his head right, so he could start to return to the man he was before Lolly called him home.
She wasn’t going to let him get away with it, though. She wasn’t going to let him go cold with her, turn back into the man he was comfortable being.
Comfortable being. But not necessarily happy being. He had never felt happiness before, so he wouldn’t know how to describe it, but if he had to describe how she made him feel, it would be pretty close to that.
“You look damn good in a suit, Colt, but I have to admit that I don’t like you in them.”
“No?”
“No. Too many layers between us. It makes it hard for me to feel your skin.”
“As soon as we’re free to roam the cabin, I’ll take it off for you.” He slid his hand up her dress, letting his fingers brush along the band of her underwear.
Her eyes widened with surprise, but he saw excitement lingering there. “You want to have sex on this plane?” She looked behind her. “What about the pilot?”
“He won’t come out.”
“How long is the flight?”
“An hour and a half. Just long enough to show you a good time.”
“You probably show every girl you bring in here a good time.” She grinned up at him. “You’ve got this whole having-sex-in-a-plane thing down to a science.”
“No,” he said seriously. “I’ve never taken a woman in here. You’re my first.”
“Your first?” Her smile turned mischievous as she ran her foot up the back of his leg. “What an honor. I guess I’m going to have to make this memorable for you.”
Chapter 13
There was only one word Zanna could use to describe Colt’s penthouse apartment: sleek. But if she had to imagine a place Colt King owned, it would be this. Everything from the cabinets to the tiles was done in cool gray tones. Every single piece of furniture, appliance, and fixture looked like it cost more than she’d made in the last five years. She was almost afraid to touch anything, worried that her fingerprints would sully the pristineness of it all.
“Your place is real nice, Colt. It’s big. Lolly’s whole house could fit right here in this room.”
“You don’t like it,” he said coming up behind her.
“I didn’t say that. It’s impressive.”
“But you don’t like it.” He wrapped his arms around her. “Open window treatments.” And with just his voice command the curtains opened, revealing a wall of windows overlooking the busy Las Vegas Strip.
It was beautiful with all of its bright lights. They were high up, looking down on everything and everyone. It was as if he truly were a king. “Do you ever feel like you live in an amusement park? It’s always busy here, isn’t it? Always bright lights and action. Always exciting.”
“You don’t like excitement.”
She turned in his arms and took his lapels in her hands. “I like excitement, Colt. It was exciting being with you on the plane. It’s exciting being here with you.” She hugged him close. “I’ve never been in a place that was so beautiful before.”
“I run a big company. Men like me are supposed to live in places like this.”
“Is this your dream home? Is this the place you were dying to get when you were a little boy in Destiny?”
“Something like this. I always thought I would have bikini models for maids.” He smiled at her again. His smiles were becoming easier, and she found herself falling deeper with each one. “I always thought my butler would wear a black one-piece. With cuffs and collars to keep it classy, of course.”
“Of course.” She nodded, grinning back at him. “What does your actual butler wear to work?”
“I don’t have one. I only have an Eastern European maid in her sixties. She barely speaks English and she has a couple of springy gray chin hairs that really highlight her face.”
“Sexy.”
“In her own way. No one else does my laundry the way she does, and she makes a stuffed cabbage roll that is so good it makes me hard just thinking about it,” he said, causing her to giggle.
“I guess that makes up for the lack of bathing suit.”
“Sometimes I’m tempted to buy her one just for kicks.” He buried his fingers in her hair. “What was your dream growing up?”
“I don’t think I had one.”
“No dream house. No pink dollhouse mansion.”
“No. My grandparents lived in a little two-room cabin that they had built themselves. It was shabby but it was homey. I loved living there with them. When I was with my mother, we lived in a few motel rooms before she got it together enough to rent us a one-bedroom apartment. Those places never felt like home. I guess I just wanted a place that felt like home. My dream house would be a nice split level with a garage and maybe a pool in the back.” Now that the words were out she felt silly saying them. Here she was standing in front of a millionaire who just like her came from nothing, but who had so much more to show for it.
“You can have more than that.”
“I don’t need more than that. Except my own salon. I’ve been saving up to buy The Head Shed, but Lolly won’t hear of it.”
“It’s time for her to give it up.”
“It’s time when she says it’s time. We both know that.”
His cell phone rang, and he stepped away to answer it. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” she heard him say before he came back to her. “I’ve got to go into the office.”
She nodded, understanding that he’d come back here to work. “What should I do while you’re gone? I can make you dinner? I’m not promising you stuffed cabbage rolls, but I can fix you something nice.”
“You don’t have to cook.” He grabbed her chin and quickly kissed her mouth. “I want to take you out tonight. Someplace really nice.”
“Let me cook for you. I want to.”
“Okay,” he relented. “The fridge is fully stocked, but if you need something, you pick up the black phone in the kitchen and call down to the concierge.” He pulled a black card out of his wallet. “I’m going to be gone for a while, so go shopping. Buy anything you want. There’s a private lap pool on the roof and a hot tub in the bathroom. I have a driver here at your disposal. Don’t be afraid to use him.”
“I’ll be fine. Have a good day at work, honey.”
He gave her a half smile before he leaned in to kiss her lips. “I’ll see you when I get home, dear.”
*
Colt walked through the door just after eight that night. It was a full hour before he usually got home, but he’d ended his day early because he knew for once his condo wasn’t empty. Zanna was sitting on his couch, feet bare, her curvy body wrapped up in a thick robe he kept in the guest room.
“Hey, Colt.” She scrambled off the couch, smiling at him, looking happy to see him. He would be a liar if he said he hadn’t thought about her while he was working. He could barely concentrate because all he could do was think about her. His mind had been on her since they had met but he’d thought it might be different once he went back to his office and sat behind his desk. He was on his turf doing what he had done for years, but nothing had changed. She never left his thoughts.
She kissed him and he tasted sweetness on her
lips. Peaches and a little bit of sourness that reminded him of something he had enjoyed when he was a little kid. “You taste good.” He kissed her again, a little longer this time.
“I bought candy.” She smiled bashfully at him as she took his briefcase from him and stripped off his suit coat. “I went a little crazy.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him over to his breakfast bar. “I got peach and apple rings. Sour balls, Baked Beans, and some of those red candy laces. Oh and a big-ass chocolate bar. Your driver took me to this really cool store off the Strip. I got Ryder and Lolly some gifts. I hope you don’t mind.”
“I don’t.” He shook his head as he picked up a sugar-dusted neon-green gummy candy and bit into it. He couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten anything so sweet, but the sugar rush was welcome and made his long day at work seem like a distant memory. “Damn, this is good. What did you get for yourself?”
“This,” she said as she chewed on a red candy lace. “I went to the supermarket, too. I just couldn’t bring myself to call your concierge when I’m fully capable of going myself. I made your driver come inside with me, though. He’s a real nice guy. A vet. Served in Vietnam, did you know that?”
“No.” He kept a couple of drivers on call for King’s Customs but he had never spoken to any of them more than to announce his destination.
“I guess you wouldn’t. You’re not exactly Mr. Warm and Fuzzy. Ned seemed really surprised when I asked him to come shopping with me, and he nearly had a heart attack when I asked him to eat lunch with me. He said things like that weren’t done.”
“You ate lunch with my driver?”
“I didn’t want to eat by myself and he’s such a nice guy. Really interesting. He’s been married to his wife for forty-five years. Wants to take her on a cruise around the world. He’s almost saved up for it, too.”
“So you went to the supermarket, the candy store, and had lunch with my driver?”
“Yeah,” she said with a red lace hanging from her mouth. “I made dinner, too. It’s warming in the oven. My grandmamma said that candy before dinner will ruin your appetite, but I’m grown now and can do whatever the hell I want.”
“You didn’t go shopping, though? You didn’t buy anything just for yourself?”
“I have the receipts right here.” She handed him a few wrinkled papers. “I treated your driver to lunch with my own money. I didn’t think you would want me using your card for that.”
He quickly calculated everything she’d spent, including the groceries for tonight’s dinner. “You spent one hundred and sixteen dollars?”
“The T-shirt for Lolly was twenty-seven bucks. I know it was too much, but it was so cute. I can give you the money for it.”
“Are you on drugs?” He walked around the counter to where she was and grabbed her shoulders. “I was expecting you to buy shoes, or clothes, or a handbag. Not candy and some souvenirs for my family.”
“I don’t want to go spending all your money.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not mine. I didn’t earn it.”
There were few times in his life when he was flabbergasted, but today was one of them. “But I’ve got it to spend and I want to spend it on you.”
“I don’t want your money. I’m here because I want to be with you. I did buy something purely for myself, though. Go sit down in your dining room and I’ll show you.”
He did as she asked without argument, but only because he couldn’t think of anything to say to her. She wanted him and he believed her. There weren’t many people in his life except his brothers whom he could say that about. Everyone wanted him for his money or for what he could do for them. They never just wanted him.
He sat at the table, loosening his tie; the feel of it around his neck was slightly strangling. He had worn one every day for the last ten years, except when he had been in Destiny, and somehow after that short time it now felt suffocating.
Zanna walked into the room without the robe she had been wearing just a few minutes ago. His mouth went dry. She was carrying a domed silver tray and wearing a black bathing suit, red high heels, and a white tie.
“Good evening, sir.” She set the tray in front of him and dramatically removed the lid. “Tonight we are having roasted chicken with a side of chipotle sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts in brown butter. For dessert we have a Dutch apple pie and a fine vanilla bean ice cream.”
She looked at him, a sassy smile spreading across her face, and he knew he loved her right then. The knowledge knocked the air out of his lungs, but it wasn’t unwelcome. He loved her. He more than loved her. He was in love with her.
“Come here.” He yanked her into his lap, positioning her until she straddled him. “You’re amazing.” He kissed across her collarbone, grabbing her behind so she could feel how hard he was for her.
“Sir!” She playfully slapped at his hands. “I am a professional and I will not tolerate any hanky-panky from you.”
“But you look so damn delicious.” He pulled at her straps, leaving her shoulders bare. “I have to have you.”
“You like this?” she asked, dropping her character. “It was only nine ninety-seven at a discount store and I got the tie for a dollar. I couldn’t find cuffs and collar. I’m sure the concierge people would have found them somewhere, but then I think they would have figured out that I wanted to use them for freaky sex games with you and they would have thought less of me.”
“They are paid not to think and I won’t let anyone think less of you.”
“You’re sweet, Colt.” She brushed a soft kiss across his mouth.
“I’m not sweet. Don’t say that.”
“Does that bother you, my sweetie-sweet gumdrop?” She unbuttoned his shirt, not all the way, just enough so that she could smooth her hands over his chest. “You’re my sweetheart.”
“Zanna,” he growled, but he was getting more turned on by the moment. He couldn’t wait to make love to the woman he was in love with.
She touched his erection, rubbing her hand over the place where his pants bulged. “This is impressive. You think I can take care of it now and we can have sex later?”
“You don’t want to have sex now?”
Her stomach growled, startling a laugh out of him.
“I’m starving,” she admitted. “This food smells good and I think I’m going to need to keep my energy up if I’m going to keep up with you tonight.” She set her lips on his ear. “You have so much stamina. A girl needs some fuel to survive all those orgasms.”
“Let’s eat.” He gently removed her from his lap.
“I want to take care of you first. Let me.”
She reached for him, but he grabbed her hands, needing her to stop so he could get out what he needed to say. “You know this is not just about sex for me.” He didn’t know what else to say to her but he needed to tell her that. He needed her to know that she was different.
Her eyes searched his face for a moment, as if she was trying to think of what to say. “Me either, Mr. King.”
He took her mouth in a hot, deep kiss, loving the way she wrapped her arms around him and held on as if he were going to float away.
“You’re all wrong for me, you know,” she said, breaking the kiss.
“And you’re all wrong for me, too, but right now I don’t give a damn.”
They were quiet for a long moment. He was savoring the feel of her, savoring that somebody was there just for him. He had never had this before. He didn’t know how to respond, didn’t know how to go forward, but he wanted to. It was impulsive and too quick, and probably too wrong for the life he had carved out for himself, but for once he just didn’t care.
She rested her lips against his cheek. “If you break my heart, I’ll shoot you.”
“If I break your heart, you should.”
*
Zanna woke when she felt Colt’s heavy body come over hers. He wasn’t naked like he was the last time she’d felt him on top of her. She felt the
silkiness of his tie against her nude skin, the buttons from his shirt pressing into her. Somehow that sensation of fabric against her exposed skin caused her to tingle between her legs even though he had spent hours last night making sure she felt thoroughly satisfied.
“I’m going to head out to work soon.” He kissed the side of her face.
“I-I…” She stopped herself from saying that she didn’t want him to go. She didn’t, but it was stupid of her to think. Colt worked all the time. It was part of him. She had to accept that. “I know you have to go in. Can I make you some breakfast before you go?”
“No thanks. I’ll grab something at work.”
“Can I pack your lunch then? I can make you a nice sandwich from last night’s pork tenderloin.”
“I have a lunch meeting today, but thank you.”
“Oh.” She felt a little disappointed. She hadn’t been here two full days yet and she was feeling a little useless.
“You’re on vacation. Relax. When’s the last time you did nothing?”
“Never. I supported myself since I was sixteen.”
“You’re here with me right now. Let me support you.”
She didn’t say anything to that. It was the thing every woman wanted to hear, but for some reason those words made her stomach sink.
What did they mean?
They hadn’t really talked about their future; no in-depth discussions had been had. All she knew was that he cared about her, that it was more than just sex for him. That was a big step for him. It wouldn’t be fair to ask him for more.
And even if she did? What would that more be? Marriage? Kids?
She would have to give up Destiny. Give up the little life she had carved out for herself in a place that made her happy. Because his life was here. There was no mistaking it. He wanted nothing to do with the town that raised him.
“I’m feeling bad, you know. I go to see Lolly every day. I bring her food. I comb her hair. I miss her.”
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