Zack came back to her, gathered her in his arms and she placed her hand on him, stroking and squeezing him until he was ready to blow. He laid her back and entered her with a deep thrust that made her gasp and him groan. Her hands gripped him by the buttocks, urging him on with breathless sounds of delight. He’d had enthusiastic lovers before, but no one matched him like Holly. Her fevered response to his touch, to his body made him feel more of a man than he’d felt with anyone else. It took the experience to another level—an intense level of thrill and excitement.
He could feel his orgasm approaching—a thunderous rush of sensations that drove every thought out of his head. He brought his hand down to the swollen heart of her, caressing her into a tumultuous release that he could feel in tight spasms against his length, triggering his own earth-shattering, planet-dislodging release.
His breathing gradually slowed, his limbs feeling so loose it was as if all the bones had been removed. A wave of lassitude, a feeling of such peace, suddenly swept over him...
After a few minutes Holly nudged him gently. ‘Don’t you have to be at work?’
He swore and lifted himself up on his arms, pausing only to plant a kiss on her mouth before he leapt off the bed and grabbed his clothes. ‘Sorry to love you and leave you, but I’ve got to dash if I’m going to make court in time. I have to go home, shower, change and run through my client’s brief.’
Holly slipped on her bathrobe and, tying the ends around her waist, followed him out of the bedroom. She was going to be shockingly late too, but at least Jane would fill in for her. ‘Thanks for dinner and...you know...everything.’
He smiled and came back over to kiss her. Then he straightened, his expression flickering with something before he asked, ‘Can you take a few days off work? I know it’s short notice but I have a conference in Paris Monday to Friday next week. We could fly over for the weekend so we have a couple of days together before the conference starts.’
Paris. The City of Love. She would have to get Jane to cover for her but at least Leanne and Taylor were back on deck now that their colds had cleared. Holly wasn’t sure her face was wide enough to contain her smile. ‘I’d love to come.’
‘I’ll pick you up this evening around six,’ he said. ‘Will that give you enough time to get ready?’
She would make time. ‘Sure. I’ll get Jane to fill in for me at the shop.’
He left a short time later, the flat feeling horribly empty without his presence. He made it seem less like a boring little bedsit and more like an exotic boudoir. She could still smell him on her skin—the citrus and leather and musky scent that reminded her of all the intimate things they had done to each other. She could feel the slight pull of her inner muscles. Every step she took was a heady reminder of the pleasure he had given her. Pleasure she couldn’t wait to experience again.
A weekend in Paris with him before his conference started sounded amazing. She would have him to herself in the most romantic city in the world.
Careful. You’re not meant to be falling in love with him.
Holly ignored the prod of her conscience. Her uptight overcontrolling conscience had no right interfering. She wasn’t falling in love with him. She was enjoying having a fling—an exhilarating, wickedly sexy fling with the most attractive man she’d ever met.
She knew exactly what she was doing. She had it under control. She was a young woman of close to thirty who was discovering her sensual side, the side that had lain dormant until now. She was more aware of her body than she had ever been before. It was glowing inside and out. She felt more confident in her body, was amazed by its ability to give and receive such mind-blowing pleasure.
That could only be a good thing, couldn’t it?
* * *
‘Oh. My. God,’ Sabrina said when she came into Holly’s workroom on her lunch break. ‘You’ve slept with him, haven’t you?’
Holly frowned. ‘How can you possibly tell?’
‘You’ve got stubble rash, for one thing.’ Sabrina pointed to Holly’s chin. ‘And you’ve got a certain glow about you I’ve never seen on you before.’
Holly didn’t see the point in denying it. ‘I’m supposed to be engaged to him so why wouldn’t I sleep with him?’
‘How was it?’
‘Amazing.’ Holly suppressed a shiver, just as she did every time she thought of Zack’s lovemaking. ‘The best sex I’ve ever had. Not only that, he’s taking me to Paris for the weekend before he has to attend a conference next week. He’s asked me to stay the whole time with him.’
‘Uh-oh.’ Sabrina pulled up a stool and sat at the workbench.
‘What’s with the “uh-oh”?’ Holly said. ‘I know what I’m doing. I’ve got it under control.’
Sabrina shook her head at her. ‘You haven’t taken a weekend off work in eons, let alone a whole flipping week. You are so going to fall in love with him.’
Holly squared her shoulders. ‘I am not.’
Sabrina leaned her elbows on the workbench and sighed. ‘Don’t mind me—I’m just ridiculously jealous. I can’t remember the last time I had amazing sex. But I think it might’ve been with myself.’
‘Maybe if you weren’t so fussy, you’d have more luck with dating.’
‘I don’t see why I should apologise for having high standards when it comes to the men I date,’ Sabrina said. ‘If I don’t like them after the first date, why would I go on a second one?’
‘Have you ever been on more than one date with a man?’
Sabrina lowered her gaze and sighed. ‘No...’
‘Maybe you should rethink the Max Firbank thing. As least you know each other, which is a whole lot less scary than dating a stranger.’
Sabrina gave her the slitted eye. ‘What is this sudden obsession with Max Firbank? I’ve told you what I think about him.’
‘I know, but remember that family function you asked me to attend with you a few weeks ago? I saw Max watching you all evening.’
‘So?’ Sabrina’s scowl would have made a three-year-old proud. ‘He only does that so he can witness me spill a drink or bump into something.’
‘Maybe, but when you got up to dance with one of your brother’s friends, Max downed his drink in one gulp and walked out of the room with a brooding frown on his face.’
Sabrina’s expression looked puzzled. ‘Did he?’
‘Yep. And I bet if you dated Max Firbank you’d have amazing sex.’
‘I wouldn’t sleep with him if he paid me.’
‘I’m pretty sure men as gorgeous-looking as Max Firbank don’t need to pay for sex.’
Sabrina hopped down off the stool in an abrupt manner that said ‘subject closed’. Even the way her feet hit the floor sounded like a punctuation mark. ‘I’d better get back to the studio. I have a couple of brides coming in for fittings. That reminds me—have things picked up for you now you’re “engaged”—’ she did the air quote thing with her fingers ‘—to Mr Amazing Sex Zack Knight?’
‘Yes. The phone has barely stopped. And my website’s had more hits in the last twenty-four hours than it has for the last month. I’ve got a couple of last-minute bookings for May and June and July, plus I’ve got three weddings booked in for August and four for September. Big ones too.’
Sabrina smiled and gave Holly a high five. ‘You go, girl. You’re on fire.’
Holly was so on fire she could feel it smouldering deep in her core. A smoking-hot week in Paris with Zack and she was sure to combust into flames.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ZACK GOT THROUGH his day’s work with his usual brisk efficiency, but one corner of his mind kept drifting to the amazing sex he’d had with Holly last night. He had never enjoyed someone’s company as much as he enjoyed hers. She was cute and sweet and so damn sexy he felt like a horny teenager. He couldn’t get enough of her. Her touch sent shivers over his flesh,
electric shivers that made him realise he had never been with a woman who had excited him more.
He’d thought of nothing but her all day. Every time he had a spare moment, his mind would drift to how it had felt to have her in his arms last night and in the early hours of the morning. His middle-aged secretary, Carol, had laughed at him when he hadn’t heard her ask him something about a client. He’d been too preoccupied, staring into space, thinking about how Holly’s mouth felt on him. Carol smiled knowingly at him as if he were some lovesick fool who didn’t know the difference between love and lust.
He was in lust, not love. He wanted Holly like he’d wanted no other woman. That wasn’t love. It was chemistry. Damn great chemistry. Awesome chemistry and he was going to enjoy it while it lasted.
Because it wouldn’t last.
It never did.
It would burn out after a time, just as it had with his other lovers. He would gradually become bored, his body not so excited any more. It happened every time and he didn’t expect this time to be any different. This week in Paris would prove it. It was the longest he would have spent with anyone in years. He’d be lucky to get to the middle of next week without the shine wearing off his enthusiasm for her.
Zack ducked home to his house in Chelsea to pack a weekend bag and was about to leave to pick up Holly when his phone rang with a call from his father. His stomach nosedived. He loved his dad but cancelling his week with Holly was out of the question. Way out of the question. ‘Dad, how are things?’
‘Guess what? I’ve met someone.’
Zack had heard it all before. His dad had met lots of women over the years but none of them ever measured up to Zack’s mother. They often looked like her—that seemed to be the pattern his dad followed—slim stylish blondes—but they never were his mother. And so the heaven and hell cycle would begin all over again. ‘That’s...nice.’ He glanced at his watch and suppressed a groan.
‘I know you’re probably thinking it will end like all the others, but I’ve known Kayla for years. We went to school together but we lost touch after I married your mother. She’s a widow now and she lives only a few doors away from me.’
‘That’s really great. I’m happy for you, Dad. Really happy.’
‘Maybe you and Holly could have dinner with Kayla and I sometime,’ his dad said. ‘A double date.’
‘Sounds like a plan. I’ll organise something the week after next. I’m off to Paris with Holly this weekend for a few days.’
‘Paris, huh?’ His dad whistled through his teeth. ‘Nice work, son. The most romantic city in the world.’
So far so good with convincing his dad he was on the straight and narrow. ‘Yep, I’m really looking forward to spending some quality time with her.’
‘I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you finally settling down,’ his dad said. ‘Have you set a date for the wedding yet?’
What was with his dad’s obsession with him getting married? Sheesh. ‘Not yet, but you’ll be the first to know.’
Zack ended the call a short time later and frowned, guilt gnawing at his guts. He might have fooled his dad that he was engaged, but what was he going to say when he found out there wasn’t going to be a wedding?
* * *
Holly left work as early as she could so she could rush to the shops and find some new outfits to take on her week away to Paris with Zack. She hadn’t shopped for new clothes in so long and took way too much time trying to choose between two gorgeous dresses, so in the end she bought both. She picked up a few casuals and a new pair of shoes, because who didn’t need a new pair of shoes? She managed to squeeze in a quick manicure as her hands bore the brunt of working with flowers day in, day out. She looked at the shiny dark blue polish and thought of Zack’s midnight gaze and how it simmered with lust when he looked at her.
She dashed back to her flat and showered and dried her hair, leaving it in a cloud of curls around her shoulders. She stood back to look at her reflection, pleased with how her blue dress—the exact colour of Zack’s eyes—hugged her figure in all the right places. Places that even now were tingling at the thought of his hands moving over them.
The doorbell rang and Holly took a breath to calm her overexcited nerves before she opened it. Zack was standing there, dressed in dark blue denim jeans, a white shirt and a navy blazer. His hair looked like it had been recently combed with his fingers and his features looked strained, tense as if he’d had a tough day at the office. He stepped over the threshold, closed the door and took her in his arms and planted a warm, lingering kiss on her mouth.
He pulled back after a dizzying moment to smile at her but she noticed it didn’t quite reach his eyes. ‘Ready?’
Holly felt something slip inside her chest. Was he having second thoughts about their trip to Paris? ‘Is everything all right?’
He released a short breath. ‘Sorry I’m a bit late.’ He picked up her bag that was waiting by the door. ‘I got held up with a call from my dad.’
Holly recalled how he’d told her that he had to give his father extra support from time to time. Was that why he looked so tense? ‘Is he okay?’
‘He’s in love.’ A flicker of cynicism rippled across his face. ‘Again.’
‘And that’s a bad thing?’
‘It never lasts.’ He held the door open for her so they could leave.
Holly followed him out to the car and waited until they were on their way before she continued the conversation. She glanced at his frowning expression as he started the engine. ‘But maybe this time your dad has found The One.’
He sent her a sideways glance. ‘I thought you didn’t believe in that fairy-tale crap?’ His tone had a sharp edge that unexpectedly stung.
Holly pressed her lips together and turned to look out of the passenger window. She didn’t want to argue with him. This was supposed to be a romantic getaway. She didn’t want it to be spoilt with bickering.
‘Hey.’ Zack ran a hand underneath her hair and turned her head to look at him. ‘Sorry, sweetie. I’m in a foul mood. Forgive me?’
She gave a tremulous smile. ‘It’s okay...’
His fingers began to caress the back of her neck, making her shiver in reaction. His eyes were so dark she couldn’t make out his pupils. ‘I’ve spent a lot of my life worrying about my father.’ He let out a long jagged sigh. ‘I want to believe he’ll be happy, that this time he’ll find what he’s looking for in a partner, but so far it’s always ended the same way. He gets shattered when a woman ends it. Absolutely shattered.’
Holly touched his face, stroking her hand down his late-in-the-day stubble. ‘Some people feel more deeply than others. They get hurt more often.’ Isn’t that the truth? ‘But he’s lucky to have you to watch out for him. You’re a good person, Zack.’
He leaned closer to cover her mouth in a tender kiss that made her feel unexpectedly emotional. When he pulled back she blinked and turned to the front so he wouldn’t see the glisten of moisture in her eyes. But he must have sensed something for he placed a finger beneath her chin and turned her slowly to face him. His eyes moved between each of hers in a back-and-forth motion, a searching motion that made her feel even more exposed and vulnerable. ‘Please tell me I haven’t made you cry.’ His voice was so husky it sounded like it had been dragged over a rough surface.
Holly smiled. ‘No, you haven’t, but if we miss that flight to Paris, I’ll cry buckets.’
‘Me too,’ he said but he didn’t say it with a smile, but with a frown.
* * *
They arrived in Paris and caught a cab to the hotel Zack had booked on Rue de Rivoli, overlooking the Jardin des Tuileries, the stunning gardens that were a short walk from the Louvre. Holly felt like she’d stepped into a fairy tale—there was that pesky word again—when Zack led her to their luxury suite. The suite was decorated in dove grey and white with occasional touches of bla
ck. The grey sofas were plush velvet chesterfields and there was a matching wing chair and an ottoman. The lamp tables were glass, so too the table lampstands and the shades were a bone white that lifted the darker hues of the furniture. The carpet was so deep Holly felt like she was walking on a cloud, but then in a way she was—being here with Zack was every girl’s romantic dream.
He had even gone to the trouble of having the room filled with flowers. There were tiny bunches of violets—not just the purple ones, but the much rarer white ones. The roses too were not the tightly budded fragrance-free hothouse ones, but fully blown and heady with the scent of spice and musk and cloves. A tall vase of pink hollyhocks and foxgloves were on a glass-topped sideboard and another shorter vase, spilling over with colourful and fragrant sweet peas, was on a coffee table.
Holly leaned down to smell the sweet peas and gave a sigh of bliss. ‘You’ve really raised the benchmark, Zack. No one will ever be able to top this.’
‘Do you like them?’
‘I love them. It’s like being at work but not.’ She picked up the posy of white violets and pressed her nose into their cool fresh sweetness.
Zack uncorked the champagne that was sitting in an ice bucket and handed her a glass. ‘You’re lucky. Few people can say they love being at work.’
Holly took the glass and clinked it against his. ‘Don’t you enjoy yours?’
He took a sip of his champagne and rocked his other hand back and forth. ‘Yes and no.’
She joined him on one of the velvet sofas, moving one of the scatter cushions to place it behind her back. ‘What don’t you like about it?’
He stared into the contents of his glass for a moment, a frown between his brows. ‘Take today, for instance.’ He looked at her. ‘I’ve had this client’s divorce dragging out for almost three years. It’s costing him a fortune, but he insists on challenging the prenuptial agreement his ex insisted on when they married.’ He screwed up his mouth and looked back at his glass. ‘Kind of makes me wonder if he only married her for her money.’
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