Chapter 14
14
“You sure?” Zach asked.
Bethany glanced at the water, her heart still hammering, then slowly nodded. “I want to try.”
The admiration in Zach’s smile strengthened her resolve. “Atta girl.” Lowering his head, he brushed his mouth across hers then tugged her gently back to the edge of the bath.
“Promise me you won’t let me go,” she blurted as fear threatened to take over again.
A look passed over his face, but it disappeared before she could accurately decipher it.
“I promise,” he said simply, but there was a touch of bleakness in his voice. Had she been less preoccupied with conquering her fear and stepping closer to the edge of the bath, she’d have wondered why.
But he was stepping into the rose-petalled water and turning to face her. “Hold on to me. Get used to the water around your feet before we take it further, okay?”
“Okay,” she murmured. She stepped into the bath.
Her fingers convulsed around his biceps as the sensation sent terror through her body. Desperately, she tried to swallow the fear that wanted to take over.
“Calm down, baby. You’re doing really well. Stop thinking about what the water can do to you and think about how it feels on your skin. Describe it to me.”
She licked her lips and tried to form the words. “It’s warm. Silky.” She looked down and saw one petal clinging to her knee. The sight was so innocuous it eased her fear a little. “It smells like heaven.”
“Good.” He stepped in front of her, his back to the rest of the bath, blocking out most of the water. “Now try lowering yourself into it. You know how deep it is. If it gets to be too much, we’ll get out.”
Sliding her hands down from his nape, she slowly lowered herself until her knees disappeared under the water. More rose petals clung to her skin, their scent rising higher.
Zach followed suit, kneeling in front of her. Then, without letting go, he drew her body flush into his. “You’re doing so well, baby.”
His encouragement peeled away another layer of her fear. Meshing her hands with his, she slowly sank back until her ass touched her heels. Water lapped between her legs and just above her waist.
They stayed like that for several minutes before he slowly freed one hand. Reaching for a large foam sponge that sat on the edge of the bath, he washed the massage oils from her body.
The fear hadn’t dissipated enough for her to completely relax, but Bethany was no longer a prisoner of her terror.
At least she was coherent enough to watch his face as he washed her.
“Why is this so important to you?” she asked.
He kept quiet for so long she thought he wouldn’t answer her. Then his lids lowered as he followed his hand down her belly to her thighs. “When I was younger, swimming meant everything to me. It was my means of escape.”
“Escape from what?”
“From the things I didn’t want to face.” His gaze captured hers, and the jagged pain she saw in his eyes fractured her breath. “Things I don’t want to talk about at the moment. Right now, I just want to take care of you.” There was a naked plea in his eyes she didn’t have the heart to refuse.
And really, how could she demand anything from him right this moment, when he’d single-handedly taken the fear she’d lived with for so long and compressed it from the super-life-sized monster it’d been to something manageable?
She lifted the hand still meshed with his up to her face and kissed the back of it.
His breath caught, and he watched her for several seconds before he resumed washing her.
“Remember what you said about taking my fear away, Zach?” she asked softly.
He nodded.
“I aim to do the same for you.” She saw the hard glint of denial in his eyes and shook her head. “No. You don’t get to be the tough guy who takes on the world’s troubles but never tackles his own. I don’t know how or even if I can help you, but I’m going to try.”
“You assume too much, Beth. I don’t take on the world’s troubles. Just yours. As for my own troubles”—he shrugged—“I’ve learned to live with them.”
Before she could counter that, he shifted round until he was behind her. In silence, he washed her back then lifted her out of the water. He walked over to the cushioned seat where a beautiful tea set had been laid out.
Pouring the menthe tea, he handed her a tiny cup. She cradled the bone china and watched him sip his own. Once again, the message that he didn’t want to talk about himself came over loud and clear. Frustration warred with the gratitude for what he’d done for her, and in the end, she bit back the need to push for the answers that were clamoring inside her. For now, at least.
Her gaze slid to the bath and back to him. “Thank you.”
“You did it all, Bethany. You mastered your own fear and triumphed.”
“We both know that’s not true. I would never have been able to do it without your help.”
His smile was slow and devastating to her senses. “In that case, I accept your thanks. You can show me your gratitude later.”
She smiled in return. “I’m racking up quite the tab there, Savage. You think I’ll ever be able to repay this debt?”
“I’m sure you will, Peaches. When the time comes, you just need to put your back into it.” He winked and downed the rest of his tea.
He waited until she finished her tea before ringing a bell to summon their attendant.
“What next?” he asked, rising to unlock the door.
“I have a mani-pedi. Or a waxing. Or something.” Lethargy wound through her, the result of the soothing tea and the fear-fueled adrenaline leaving her system.
“Stick to the mani-pedi or a facial. You don’t need to be waxed.”
She couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up. “Is that your inner caveman talking?”
He leaned down and kissed her, a devilish gleam in his eyes, as a knock sounded on the door. “Yes, and I make no apologies for him.” He pulled her robe more firmly around her and stepped back. “I’m going to hit the pool. I’ll see you in an hour?”
She nodded and went with him to the door. They parted ways at the end of the hallway. She watched him walk away, unable to take her eyes off his stunning body.
Two women wearing tiny robes walked past, then turned to stare at Zach, their naked interest sending a spike of jealousy through her. That he didn’t even turn to acknowledge their look in any way made the fists she’d unconsciously clench relax a little, but the anxiety wrapping itself around her heart refused to ease.
Well, Bethany, this is no fun, is it?
The mocking voice couldn’t be silenced. Nor could the certainty that she was falling for Zachary Savage be shaken.
The attendant gave a tiny cough, jerking her out of her thoughts.
She sat through her grooming session, barely aware of what was going on as the realization hit home with brutal force.
This thing was no longer casual. And it was going to be as messy as she’d predicted the moment she’d set eyes on Zach.
* * *
“Hey, you’re giving me the silent treatment now?” Zach asked as they were driven back home.
He’d asked Philip to take the long route home, and the gentle giant had obliged by driving them along the winding roads, which led up into the Atlas Mountains.
The sun was beginning to set, and Marrakech was spread out in all its red and gold glory beneath them.
“What’s wrong, baby?” Zach pressed, the light pressure of his fingers on her chin tugging her gaze to his.
“It’s been a fantastic day. But it’s also been a little bit overwhelming,” she answered truthfully. She was amazed by his compassion and determination to help her overcome her fear. But the knowledge that she was risking her heart on a man who was an enigma to her occupied her thoughts now.
Chris had not been an enigma. He’d been a liar and a cheat. But he too had kept her in the dark, and the result had been devastating. She hadn’t known what the man she’d been sharing her bed with had been doing, until he’d dropped the bomb at her feet.
Trouble was, she had a feeling any bomb Zach dropped at her feet would be much more devastating than anything Chris had delivered.
Her heart tripped, and jolted back into rhythm, when he tilted her head back and looked deep into her eyes. That intense, unwavering look made her breath catch.
God, she could so very easily make a big-ass fool of herself over this man… if she hadn’t already.
“You don’t need to worry about anything else right now, Peaches. I’ve got you. Understand?”
Her nod was stupidly jerky, and her eyes prickled with unshed tears. She was blinking them away when the SUV slowed to a stop. She glanced out of the window and saw that they’d stopped on a ledge just off the side of the road. Zach alighted and helped her out.
“Why are we stopping?”
“Because you need to see this.”