Chapter 9
9
Her first day back at work was frenetic. Sheena Malcolm, her boss, asked about her Aunt Mel, then looked skeptical and anxious when Bethany gave the highly sketchy details of her aunt’s phantom illness.
Sheena tugged the sleeves of her Prada suit and lingered outside Bethany’s cubicle. “You won’t need to return there anytime soon, will you?” she asked with a thin sniff.
The pain that had found permanent residence beneath Bethany’s breastbone kicked her hard. “No, I imagine not. Aunt Mel is expected to make a full recovery.” Keeping her fingers crossed behind her back that karma would be kind to her, she held her breath until Sheena retreated to her glass-walled office.
At lunchtime, Bethany grabbed a sandwich from the deli on the first floor and returned to her desk to pick at it. Her phone beeped intermittently with messages from Zach, but she ignored them. She needed all her concentration to get through the pile of work on her desk.
By four, she’d planned a Michelin culinary crawl for the corporate heads of a Wall Street investment giant, chased down the last RSVP for an art gallery opening, and sent out the itinerary for a Napa wine tasting stag event she was organizing for an internet mogul.
Her feet ached, her back ached and her heart ached from tripping over itself every time she heard the faint beep of another incoming message.
At six, she finally gave herself permission to read Zach’s messages. They contained more of the same relentless pleas.
Persistent. She had to give him points for his tenacity.
She was reading through the last message and fighting not to blush at the blatant description of what he intended to do to her once their hiatus was over when the phone blared to life, causing her to nearly drop it.
“Have you finished for the day?” His deep, sexy voice attacked her senses without mercy.
She swallowed hard before she could speak. “Just about. And hello to you too, Zach.”
“Hey, Peaches. Come downstairs. I’ll give you a ride home.”
She jumped up and nearly toppled sideways when she tripped over her discarded shoes. “You’re here? Why?” she blurted.
“I was in the neighborhood,” he answered vaguely. “I’m double-parked, so you need to be quick.”
She floundered. The nearest window that overlooked the street, twenty floors below, was in Sheena’s office, and no way was she going in there to find out if Zach was really double-parked or whether, as she suspected, he was bluffing.
She also wanted to tell him she didn’t need a ride home, but the words stuck in her throat.
As if sensing her battle, he sighed. “Come down or I’ll have to come upstairs and get you. I don’t think you’ll want that.”
“Blackmail, Zach?”
“Friendly suggestion. Now tell me you’re on your way.”
Her belly flipped over. “I’m on my way.”
“Good girl.”
She stepped into her shoes and gathered up her stuff. Gary Wright, the other partner of Neon, walked past as she turned off her computer.
Normally, he was aloof and avoided eye contact with the staff, leaving Sheena to do all the hiring, firing and general ball breaking.
This evening, he stopped and slanted her an almost smile.
“Good to have you back, Bethany.”
She glanced at him in surprise. “Umm… thanks.”
He nodded, and she could swear she saw his gaze assessing her briefly before he looked towards Sheena’s office.
As if she was on some silent bat signal, Sheena burst out of her office at that moment. The large plant at the side of Bethany’s desk precluded Sheena from seeing her until she was almost at her cubicle. “Gary, we have an appointment at ten tomor—” she said excitedly, only to stop when she saw Bethany. “I didn’t know you were still here, Bethany.” She exchanged glances with Gary.
“I was just leaving.”
Sheena nodded. “Well, have a great evening. And see you tomorrow.”
Bethany was still mulling over the strange scene when she walked through the revolving doors and into the warm July evening.
The black limo was indeed double-parked on the busy street. In the driver’s seat, Philip kept the engine running.
Her footsteps faltered at the sight of Zach. He leaned against the side of his car without a care in the world. Black designer slacks caressed his lean hips and his dress shirt and dark lightweight jacket emphasized his mouth-watering torso and broad shoulders.
The casual kerchief tucked into his breast pocket gave him a debonair air that was so jaw-droppingly powerful, a full body shudder raked her.
He really had no right to be so insanely gorgeous. His rugged good looks were attracting every single passing female’s glance, and a few of the men’s. Jealousy tore through Bethany as she noticed one particularly brazen female actually stop, stare, and give Zach a come-fuck-me-hard smile that made Bethany want rip her face off.
“Are you going to stand there all night, slaying passersby with your eyes?” he drawled.
She was in no mood for his mockery. “You should’ve stayed in the car. Then I wouldn’t have to deal with your female appreciation sidewalk traffic jam.”
He straightened and held the door open for her. She found it infinitesimally gratifying that his gaze never once strayed from its intense focus on her. “Your grouchiness is cute. Step into my cave and I’ll see if I can make it better.”
A reluctant smile twitched her mouth.
She slid in, and he followed quickly. He slammed and locked the doors. The glance he sliced her held a touch of anxiety, as if he was afraid she’d bolt. It was certainly something she’d considered when she’d stepped out of the building and seen him again.
His ability to capture and hold her attention to the exclusion of all else had always bothered her. Being with Zach was like holding a live electric wire. It was only a matter of time before she experienced another profound shock.
Right now though, with the soft seats beneath her and the cool air-conditioning of the plush car washing over her, her exhausted body didn’t want to move.
She slid her shoes off as the car slid into traffic.
Zach’s gaze fell to her exposed feet and back to her eyes. Before she could guess what he intended, he lifted one foot onto his lap and pressed his thumbs deep into her throbbing muscles. Memories of her Shanghai foot massage washed over her, and she barely managed to smother a moan.
“Feel good?”
“You know it does,” she accused darkly.
His smile held a trace of satisfaction and that healthy dose of anxiety. He continued to massage her soles, his fingers moving expertly over her tight, stretched muscles.
Bethany eased back into the seat. When she sighed, he looked over at her.
“Everything okay at work?”
She eyed him. “Sure. Why do you ask?”
“You looked slightly bemused as you stepped out.”
“Oh, that. Yeah, Gary, my other boss who has barely said a word to me since I started working there, actually engaged in conversation with me tonight. And he actually said something nice. And Sheena was acting weird too.” She shrugged.
Zach’s hands stilled for a moment then resumed the massage. “Did they say anything in particular?”
She relaxed deeper into the soft leather seat and sighed as the air-conditioning cooled her skin. “Not really. It was just weird, is all.” She laughed. “Maybe they missed me. The amount of work waiting for me certainly indicates so.”
“Don’t sound so surprised. You’re a valuable asset to any company, I’m sure.”
“Hmm, a foot massage and compliments. Anyone would think you wanted something, Savage.”
His answering smile looked a little strained. He shifted in his seat. Her foot settled deeper in his lap and she understood why.
Zach was hard. And hot and straining his pants. The car swayed into a turn and her heel grazed his length. He hissed out a breath.
Molten grey eyes connected with hers. Slowly, his hand slid from her sole to her ankle, caressing up her leg.
“Zach.” Her protest was feeble enough to be completely useless.
“I want to make you feel good, baby. Let me.” His hand slid higher, cupped her calf and massaged her bare skin.
Heat scythed through her. Her pussy clenched hard, her need so acute it became a pain lodged between her legs. He reached the sensitive area at the back of her knees then pressed his fingers deep.
She jerked, but when she tried to withdraw he held on.
“Up.” He indicated her other foot.
She considered refusing. Then she considered how unhappy her left foot would be if it didn’t get the same boneless relief her right foot had just received. It was really a no-brainer. Besides, she was fully clothed, in a moving car in the busiest city in the world.
Yeah, keep deluding yourself .
Zach’s smile grew even tighter around the edges when she raised her other foot and placed it in his lap. His erection was granite-hard, and his chest rose and fell in harsh breaths.
Bethany wanted to ask why he was torturing himself so much, then thought the better of it. She knew why. She was suffering the same deep, dark hunger. Their chemistry defied reason, and she’d known the moment she’d entered the car that a version of this would play out.
They watched each other, their breaths growing more frantic with each passing second as his caress deepened and slowed.
When his hands slid under her black skirt, her whole body shuddered in response.
Sure, expert fingers grazed her inner thighs. Her nipples peaked and throbbed painfully as her breasts swelled against her pink shirt.
Wetness oozed between her thighs, soaked her panties and infused the air between them with her scent. She knew the moment Zach smelled her arousal.
He shuddered and gritted his teeth. “God, I need to make you come!” He brushed her skirt higher. “Will you let me?”
“Zach…” Another feeble protest barely worth the effort.
But he took it seriously. He slammed his head against the headrest, squeezed his eyes shut and gripped her thigh hard enough to leave marks in the morning.
“You should know, I can’t even jack myself off anymore. You’ve ruined me for everything, Bethany. Even my fucking masturbation. I hope you’re pleased with yourself.”
Against her will, laughter bubbled up her throat. She pressed the curves of her feet over his erection and was rewarded with a dark, hungry growl. “I’m glad you didn’t jack it until it fell off.”
He grunted a half laugh, then immediately sobered. “You’re cracking jokes. Dare I hope that this is a step forward for us?” he probed gently. His eyes were full of hope and the grip on her thigh trembled slightly as he stared at her.
“This isn’t really funny, Zach. This last week wasn’t a walk in the park for me. I hurt. Very much. It’s been… The pain has been unbearable,” she whispered. A part of her wondered why she was opening herself up to him like this, making herself even more vulnerable than she already was.
But honestly, hadn’t she been like this with Zach right from the beginning? Being this close to him was like walking around with her nerves exposed. She felt raw. She’d felt naked with him from the moment she’d laid eyes on him.
She stared at his gorgeous, haunted face and tears welled up in her eyes.
“Bethany! Shit, baby, don’t cry.”
He scooped her up and placed her in his lap. His mouth grazed her cheek, triggering faster tears. “You’re shutting me out of the important bits of your life, and I can’t… I can’t take it. God, I’m so pathetic.”
“You’re not pathetic, and they’re not the most important bits. You are.”
“If they’re not, then why won’t you talk about them?”
“Because some parts of it are not mine to tell.”
“But they’re a part of who you are. That shouldn’t be a secret.”
He sighed, then gripped her waist hard, before he raised her face to his. “They won’t be. Not for much longer.”
“Do you give me your word?”
He stared back at her for a long, hard moment. Then he nodded. “Yes.”
Her breath shuddered out. “So what happens until then?”
Molten grey eyes slid over her face, dropped to her mouth and stayed. “Until then… you use me for sex?”
She started to snort, then realized he wasn’t laughing. In fact, his face, his eyes, his whole body was tense with poised expectation as he waited for her answer.
“God, you really mean that, don’t you?” she gasped.
“I haven’t fucked you in ten days. Trust me when I say, I’d jump in a fucking volcano right now for another taste of your pussy. Then I’d walk back for a chance to bury my cock in your tight heat.” He crooned his need in a voice so husky with lust, she could barely hear him over the dark rumble in her own ears.
“That sounds like… fiery work.”
He smiled that tight, I-wanna-fuck-you-so-bad smile. “You don’t know the half of it, baby.”
His cock swelled beneath her ass as he shifted.
“I think I can feel… some of it.”
He laughed. “More jokes, Peaches? Maybe I should tell Philip to keep driving. I could be buried deep inside you come morning.”
The reminder had her glancing out the window for the first time since she’d gotten into the car. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed that they were approaching her neighborhood.
Surprise rocked through her as the car glided to a stop in front of her favorite Italian take out.
“How did you know?” she asked as Philip got out and headed into the restaurant.
He shrugged. “You mentioned it when we were together. I haven’t forgotten a single thing of our time together, baby. I just did some research and hit the jackpot.”
She had a feeling it was more than luck on his part. For the first time since he’d crashed back into her life, Bethany allowed herself to touch him.
His face, stubbled and sexy as hell, felt warm beneath her fingers. Her hand drifted down his cheek, and he turned to kiss her fingertips.
“I’m scared that this won’t work out. That to keep doing this is asking to be hurt even more.”
“Are you willing to let me go?”
Quaking inside and out, she shook her head. “Not willingly. But?—”
He placed a finger across her lips. “No buts. I’m not going to let you go either. Which means the only way forward is to fight through this.”
Philip returned to the car and placed the takeout on the front seat.
Zach kept her firmly settled in his lap as the car rolled smoothly back into traffic. When they reached her apartment, he opened the door and helped her out. The window slid down and Zach reached for her food. In silence, he passed it to her and gazed down at her.
Expecting him to push his way up to her apartment the way he’d done on Saturday night, she was acutely disappointed when he just said, “See you tomorrow.”
The stark emotions coursing through her made her snap. “I don’t need a ride home every night, Zach.”
His smile was enigmatic enough to cause tingles down her spine. She’d learned the hard way that when he smiled like that, it meant something was up.
“I didn’t say anything about rides home, Bethany.”
Before she could ask what he meant, he was back in the car and the door was shutting.
Long after his car had disappeared from view, she stood on the sidewalk, staring into the empty space.