Closer to the Heart (The Heart Trilogy Book 3) (39 page)

He hung up and dispensed with his clothes so that he could close the gap between them.

“It’s my turn to spoil you” she breathed, patting the covers beside her.

He lay down beside her and let her hands and lips pay homage to his body. Then he sat up and let her sit atop of him, pushing inside gently as they sat staring into each other's eyes. The intensity of just this was enough for him to want release. He felt her hands run down his back, touching the raised skin of the brand. They both shuddered, it would always be there but its power was fading.

“I love you Sasha”

“I love you Zachary, lets tell Sam tonight. I want to start making plans with you”

Letting his finger feather lightly over her nipples he dropped lower and as they moved faster he rubbed her clit until she shook in his arms and he joined her. The experience they shared was much more than just a physical release. Cradling her tight he bought his lips to her ear.

“Will you marry me?”

“Zach, did you just say what I think you did?”

“Yes, but if you want I can do it the official way?”

Breaking apart he reached to find his jeans, a ring concealed in a box there since yesterday. Then kneeling beside the bed he reached for her hand.

“Sasha Marie Mason would you do me the great honour of becoming my wife?”

“Yes” she cried, tears of happiness kissed the blush on her cheeks, as she let him place the diamond solitaire on her finger. It glistened in the sunbeam of the window and she pulled him back upon the bed.

They both lay staring in wonder at their new found love.

“Guess I'm going to have a lot of explaining to do with Michelle, it’s beautiful” she twisted the ring and watched the sunlight spread in a kaleidoscope of colours.

“And Sam, well maybe not as much” Zach shrugged “he's wonderful”

“So are you with him, I never saw that side of you before”

“I have a three year old niece now, can't wait to tell Lexie about us, all of us”

Chapter 54

Thursday morning dawned too soon as Zach climbed out of bed and pulled on his clothes.

“Do you have to go so early?”

“Yes, tell Sam I'll see him on Sunday”

“Ok, he was so stoked when he found out you were his Dad, although at this stage I'm not sure if that has more to do with the present and the trip to the Zoo yesterday”

“Plenty more where they came from” he took her hand and kissed the finger holding his ring.

“Love you Zachy babe, drive carefully and take care”

“Love you Sash, I'll text you when I get home” his lips grazed hers and he resisted the urge to climb back beneath the covers.

Creeping along the landing he peeped into Sam's room, the Ferrari had taken up all the space on his bedside cabinet. He smiled as his heart beat jumped at the sight of the dark hair peeping out from the covers. It was six in the morning and light already as he stepped out of the house and walked to his car. The drive would be easy at this early hour which meant he could relax and let images of Sasha fill his mind. When he neared the club he slowed and parked up. Unlocking he walked into the darkness and up the stairs to his office. In a couple of hours he had done his work with the recording from Saturday night, thanks to Duncan's tuition from a year ago.

He entered his flat just before mid-day and found Dan slouched on the sofa watching a porn film from his private stash. He cleared his throat and Dan jumped and switched the TV off.

“Come on mate, you can't spend the rest of your life mooching around here”

Zach put the kettle on and brewed some tea.

“I didn't think it would affect me this much, she's gone, gone forever”

“Yeah, and you need to move on, in fact I need a bar manager at my other club and there's a small flat above if you want to take that?”

“Thanks Zach, I don't deserve your friendship, especially after what I helped Felicity do to you, Sasha and Mitchell”

“Look, I'm over it all, moving on now”

Zach called the estate agent later and arranged for a valuation. The flat needed to go so that they could start house hunting. Sasha had not only told Sam about Zach and the two of them getting married in the future but had also agreed to put her house up for sale. Things were moving in the right direction. He just needed to get the police off Dan's case and hopefully it would close. He looked through his mail and found a parcel. Opening it he found a disc and a note from Duncan.

“Zach,

Here's the sound recording of Felicity, I edited it to sound like a confession so all you need to do is get it into her house so that the police can find it.

Hope to see you and Sasha soon, don't be strangers!

Love Duncan and Lexie xx“

He was tempted to listen to it but he knew it would upset Dan again so he placed it in his jacket pocket.

“Just going to pop out, be back soon and then you can come and start learning the ropes at the club tonight. Thursday's are pretty quiet so I can get Cal to show you what he does”

“Ok, better pop for a shower then” Dan said.

“If you wanna finish the DVD you have time” Zach joked.

“Ha ha, you smug git” Dan retorted to a departing back.

Zach walked across the park with phone in hand and texted Charlotte.

“On my way over, hope you're in”

“Yes, it’s just me as Mitch is at work”

Charlotte had only just pressed send when she heard a knock on the door and Jester's accompanying barks. She waddled along the hall and let Zach in.

“Boy, you've expanded” he joked, unable to resist a stroke as he kissed her cheek.

“So what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Let’s grab a cold drink and I'll tell you”

“Ok” he followed Charlotte into the kitchen and watched as she poured them cold lemonade from the fridge. Then they went through to the lounge so she could take up her place on the sofa again.

Zach pulled out the cd and placed it on the coffee table.

“Have the police been round yet?”

“No, but James knows Rob on the force. He says they will call back once the investigation is finished and her body is no longer needed”

“Oh, so Mitchell has to deal with all that then?”

“Yeah, he's blocking it out at the moment but I think James and Darren will help. Mum's not happy about it”

“And you?”

“Mixed, I'm sad for Mitchell but happy she's gone”

She took a sip from her glass and glanced down at the disc.

“So this is it, her confession?”

“Yes, Duncan sorted it so it’s up to you and Mitchell to put it in the house. Then if Mitchell inherits, you can plant it to be found. Then it's up to you”

Zach watched a frown appear on her brow.

“Yeah, I guess once James and my Mum hear it they might not want it made public”

“But at least they will know”

She nodded and reached to take his hands in hers.

“You look different?” She said.

“Guess I'm in love and I have you to thank for that”

“Why?”

“If I'd not met you and seen how passionately you loved Mitchell and believed it would all work out I would never have asked Keith to find Sasha”

“I think you'd better thank Mum too, she taught me all I know from her diary entries. That true love is magical and precious”

He moved to sit beside her on the sofa.

“You're a remarkable, sexy woman and I love you as a friend, a close friend. Whatever happens with the babies I will be as involved or not as you want”

“Thanks Zach, the more I think about it the more I kind of feel that they are Mitchell's but we can do the test when they're born”

She saw he was still grinning like a loon and she narrowed her eyes.

“Come on, if you're a close friend spill, I know you're holding something back”

“I asked Sasha to marry me and she said yes”

“Oh Zach, that's wonderful. She seems really nice”

“Well maybe she can give you some advice on being a Mum”

Charlotte looked puzzled but Zach was grinning from ear to ear.

“What, my brain feels like fudge at the moment so I can't guess why you're still smiling like a crazy guy and not at all like the brooding man I’ve come to know”

“I'm a Dad, here he is” Zach pulled his phone out and showed Charlotte the selfie he had taken of the three of them at the zoo.

Charlotte gazed at the picture, up at Zach and then back down at the screen.

“He's called Samuel, isn't he handsome”

“You are a dark horse, full of surprises today” Charlie said “and yes he looks like you both”

Looking at his watch Zach stood up.

“I've got to go now as I'm showing Dan the ropes at the club and then the police are showing up to check out his alibi”

“Good luck” Charlotte tried to get back up but Zach stopped her.

“Stay there” he handed her the disc which she put in the pocket of her dressing gown.

“Thanks Zach, stay in touch and I can't wait for this to all be over”

“Soon Lottie, real soon” he dropped a kiss on her forehead and then let himself out.

An hour later and Mitchell was kissing her awake, the smell of grease and oil on his clothes.

“Baby, are you ok?” He asked.

“Yeah, must have dozed off”

“Hard day on the sofa” He joked.

She nodded and pulled him close.

“Zach came round to give me the cd of the recording of that night. We just need to hide it at the house or accidentally find it when we're next there”

Mitchell scowled, as she pulled it from her pocket.

“Don't worry I have a plan” Charlie said, before hiding it again as the door opened again.

“Hi guys, I'm home” I called from the kitchen “anyone like a drink?”

“In a bit Steph, better go get out of my scruffs and have a shower”

“Yeah Mum, I need to get dressed” Charlotte shouted. I heard their footsteps on the stairs and giggles. I knew exactly what was going on, after all my diary had mentioned the joy of shared showers. James walked in next and I turned into his arms.

“Rough day”

“Just a bit of ribbing from the guys, they'll soon get bored”

I opened my mouth to say something more but he replaced all talking with a kiss, his tongue delving to elicit a sigh from within.

“Think I'd better take a shower, have you had yours yet?” The mischievous grin I loved lit his eyes.

“Better wait till our kids come down from theirs”

“Hey, wonder who taught them that trick?”

“Yeah, I wonder” I pulled him close again and I crept a hand up his t-shirt. Our mouths collided again as he crushed me in his embrace.

Upstairs Charlie rubbed the gel into a lather and smoothed it over his skin, feeling the tremble of desire there. No one had told her that being pregnant would make her horny as hell!

“So what's this plan?” Mitch asked, enjoying the feel of her hands on his skin.

“Well, I guess that you might inherit the house so we can sneak the cd in then and let your Dad find it”

“Sounds like a plan, I kind of don't really want to go back there”

“But if we don't then how will my Mum ever know the truth” she let her fingers reach around and cup his balls. Knowing the exact way he liked them to be fondled. He groaned and nodded.

Zach and Daniel arrived at the club early but were soon in the company of Cal.

“If you can show Daniel the ropes and get the bar ready I'll pop the cash in the tills and check the cloakroom tickets”

“Sure Zach”

“Who's on the entrance this evening?” Zach asked.

“Sherrie rang in sick so I called up April instead”

“Good, let’s get started then”

Zach strode into the lobby, turning on lights as he went so the club transformed from dark and dingy to the vibrant atmosphere his cliental were used too. Although he knew the cops were turning up he felt calm, even more so now that Sherrie wasn't in. He'd probably offer her a job at his other club with Dan, maybe she could suck him out of his funk.

In the office he turned on the computer and his camera system, the fake file from Saturday night easy to find but still in chronological order. Then he called up the saved files on his hard drive. He had two he needed to remove. He found it easy to press the button on Charlotte and Shelley in the changing room, but his finger hovered over the New Year's Eve file. He pressed play and took one last look at his first time with Charlotte, but then his head filled with Sasha and Samuel and he pressed delete again. He had his future to look forward to now, so long as the police believed the story.

He found an email from his sister blinking in the inbox and opened it.

“Zach

The Met police called on Duncan today regarding the camera malfunction at Madame Zee Zee's. Everything is fine and they left happy with the information that Felicity dined alone and then asked one of the cloakroom assistants to tie her up, place the bag over her head leave her until she pressed the button that was in reach of her hands. My head waiter took the call at the restaurant and consulted the booking list and found our names there so everything is clear and clean at our end. Let me know what's happening with you and when you and Sasha are free for dinner at ours.

Love you

Lexie“

He closed it down as he heard the first sounds of activity in the lobby. April had just opened the door for the early birds. He drained his mug of coffee and watched on the camera's, waiting for the police. Sure enough they appeared in uniform and April allowed them free entry into the club. Zach saw that Daniel was down in the cellar learning about the beer pumps with Eddie, which avoided any awkward questions. He walked through the club and arrived at the bar, listening in to the questions they were asking Cal. He answered confidently and confirmed the story the police had jotted down.

Zach cleared his throat and the officers turned around.

“Evening gentleman, can I offer you a drink”

“Evening Mr King, I'm Rob and this is Kieran but as we're on duty we'll have to decline”

“We can do tea, coffee or soft drinks?” Zach signalled to Cal who held two cups by the coffee maker.

“Perhaps when we've finished asking you a few questions. Can we see your security footage?”