High (17 page)
He led her to the front of the SUV,
leaned back against the hood and positioned her in front of him. For several
seconds, she stared at the horizon, unable to determined which aspect of the
gorgeous view needed her attention.
She started to turn.
He leaned down and whispered in her
ear. “Wait for it. It’ll happen any minute now.” His breath on her ear sent a
shudder through her. One arm tightened around her as he raised the other to
point at a spot between two mountains. “Keep your eyes on that spot.”
She did. Less than a minute later, the
setting sun dropped into the spot, splashing the snow-capped mountains in
silver and orange flames. Slowly, the color spread over the valley and across
the city. The scene was so spectacular, so
breathtaking,
she clasped her hands over her mouth in wonder.
They stood like that for several
minutes, until the sun disappeared behind the mountains.
“My God, that was beyond beautiful.”
“Yes,” he breathed. “It was.” The
simple agreement made her glance at him. There was a quiet joy in his face as
he stared at the view but there was also a tinge of sadness and pain in his
eyes that made her stomach dip alarmingly.
“You really love being here, but this
place also makes you sad,” she observed quietly. “Why is that, Zach?”
He immediately stiffened. His arm
started to drop but she grasped it and held on.
“Talk to me, Zach. Please. I can’t help
you if you don’t let me in.”
His jaw tightened. “Did it occur to you
that I don’t need your help? I told you from the start, there’s nothing
important enough to impact what happens between us.”
“But this is important, don’t you see?
I can’t see your pain and just ignore it. Just as I can’t ignore the fact that
even though you didn’t want to get on The Indigo Lounge plane, you went ahead
and joined the trip anyway. Call me presumptuous, but I think you did that
because of me—”
“Yes, I did.”
She turned fully in his arms. “But why?
What happened? The Indigo Lounge is one of the most successful business
ventures of this decade, and yet you’ve had very little to do with it since its
inception.”
“I employ highly paid and highly motivated
people—”
“Don’t give me the company line, Zach.
I’m not stupid. There’s something about this place that has a hold on you, same
as with The Indigo Lounge. You don’t have to tell me, but please don’t deny
that it impacts what’s happening between us.”
“And what do you think is happening
between us?”
“You give and expect me to take without
giving back. I’m not wired that way. I need to know that I can give you
something worthy in return.”
“You do.”
She sighed. “I’m not talking about sex,
Zach.”
“Neither am I.” His eyes darkened in
the fading light and she held her breath and waited. “Being with you…it helps
me,” he stated quietly.
Her heart leapt. “Helps you…with what?”
“It just helps, Bethany. Can’t we leave
it at that?” he whispered fiercely.
She started to shake her head and
caught sight of Philip, sitting behind the wheel, his face averted from them,
trying to be discreet. But there was no doubt the driver had witnessed their
argument.
A glance at Zach told her he knew it
too, but there was no hint of embarrassment on his face. It made her wonder
just how well Philip knew his boss and how many times he’d had to avert his
gaze like this. “I know next to nothing about you, Zach. That has to change.”
Grey eyes narrowed. “Is that an
ultimatum?”
“It’s a simple truth. The sex is great.
But I need more; much more or this won’t work for either of us in the long
run.” She stopped and swallowed. “Or maybe there won’t be a long run for us.”
“Bethany…”
“I’m not demanding. Hell, I was the
girlfriend who was so trusting and oblivious to what her boyfriend was up to that
he had to spell it out, remember? But today you called me brave. You helped me
to take hold of my fear and crush it. All I’m asking is that you think about
doing the same.”
“And if I don’t?”
It took a surprising amount of effort just
to shrug. “I can’t answer that. I’m not an expert on relationships. But I know
I won’t be content to live in a vacuum forever.”
He remained silent for a very long
time. Then he nodded. “Understood.”
They travelled back home in silence.
But all through the journey, his arms surrounded her, her head tucked under his
chin. The furtive glances she cast his way showed his face shadowed with myriad
expressions she couldn’t decipher.
Whatever demons Zach Savage possessed
were raging full force. And although it hurt to think she’d been the one to
bring them out in the open, she was glad he wasn’t brushing them away. His
chest lifted and fell in a jagged shudder as they drove through the gates of
his house.
Her fingers fisted in his shirt as she
felt his pain. Lacing his fingers through hers, he led them into the house but
stopped in the large foyer.
“I need to make some calls. I’ve
neglected a few things since we’ve been here. I’ll catch up with you in a few
hours?”
Her heart sank. “Oh, okay,” she
murmured.
“If you’re hungry, just dial the
kitchen and they’ll rustle up something for you.”
She tried to smile despite the vice
tightening around her heart. Zach was in full retreat mode. He had no intention
of confronting his demons.
At least not today.
“Don’t
worry, I’ll be fine.”
He pulled her to him and planted a hard
kiss on her parted lips. Heat immediately engulfed her but he was striding away
toward his study.
She stood there, her fingers touching
her tingling mouth as he shut the study door behind him. For the first time
since she’d met him, Zach had actively, willingly retreated from her.
Trepidation welled up in her gut and
grew with each passing second.
Perspective.
You need perspective, girl.
Whirling, she flew up the stairs and
headed for their suite. Going to her side of the bed, she sank down and grabbed
her phone.
Keely answered on the third ring. “Hey,
Peaches
.”
Bethany grimaced. “If I told you I’m
terrified of losing a man I barely knew a week ago, would you call me crazy?”
“Nope. I live in constant fear of
losing men I’ve never even met, never mind fucked yet.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m
serious, Keel.”
A sympathetic sigh echoed down the
line. “I know, baby girl. I knew it when we spoke last week. Casual
relationships aren’t your thing. Was I was hoping you’d somehow make an
exception this time? Probably. And I most definitely wasn’t counting on your
no-strings guy being Zachary Savage himself. So I’ve kinda been waiting for
this call.” Keely’s voice oozed sympathy.
“What should I do? He…he won’t talk to
me.”
“You need to find a way to make him.”
“I’ve tried every way I know how.”
“Then try something else.
Something that’s guaranteed to get his attention.
Go for
broke, or chalk it up to experience and come home before the hurt gets worse.”
Bethany kicked her shoes off and slid
into bed. Rubbing her foot on the luxurious coverlet, she sucked in a slow
breath. “The only thing that gets his attention is sex.” The realization made
something in her chest hurt. She rubbed absent-mindedly at the spot just
beneath her breastbone and gripped the phone harder.
“Are you sure? You’ve got him hooked
enough for him to send a total stranger flowers and champagne. That might be a
billionaire thing to do, but it’s certainly not a casual billionaire thing,
especially from a guy who values his privacy the way Savage does.”
“I don’t want to hope, Keel. I’m scared
I’ll get hurt again.”
“That makes total sense. But isn’t it
better to get hurt now than further down the line when you’re even more
invested?”
Bethany didn’t want to admit either
scenario although she agreed with Keely.
“And remember, there’s absolutely
nothing stopping you from getting on a plane and coming home now.”
That particular thought made her
insides twist with panic and fear. “I don’t think I can.”
Keely stayed silent for several heartbeats.
“Then do what Aunt Keely thoroughly recommends. Go for broke.”
Go
for broke
. Could she do it? And if she couldn’t,
was she prepared to live with the alternative: that she hadn’t tried at all? A
shiver of apprehension washed over her. Relaxing deeper into the bed, she
turned her face into Zach’s pillow and inhaled his familiar, heady scent. The
idea of never smelling him like this again caused her heart to plummet. Seizing
at the opportunity change the subject she smiled. “Speaking of aunts, how’s
Auntie Mel doing?”
“She can make a miraculous recovery
tomorrow. Or she can get worse. You tell me which you want it to be, and I’ll
make it happen.”
Crap. Keely was too clever by half
sometimes. Bethany had called because she needed perspective. Keely was holding
up the mirror far too effectively, and Bethany had no choice but to confront
what lay ahead.
She bit her lip and passed her free
hand over Zach’s pillow. She recalled the flash of pain she’d seen in his eyes
and her resolve firmed.
“I think Aunt Mel needs to be sick for
just a little bit longer.”
“That’s my girl. Go show him what
you’re made of.”
She didn’t get a chance to. Not that
night. Because once she’d undressed and brushed her teeth, she decided to call
her parents. Being vague as to when she would return took more mental dexterity
than she’d bargained for. Drained after the call, she pulled Zach’s pillow
toward her and wrapped her arms round it.
Within minutes, she was asleep.
***
She woke alone the next morning. Zach’s
side of the bed was cold and looked hardly slept in.
Her heart slammed with fresh panic.
Tossing the sheet aside, she pulled on the T-shirt he’d discarded. Having his
scent engulf her made her feel a little better but it also brought home to her
just how important Zach Savage had become to her.
Leaving the suite, she went downstairs
and headed for his study. The door was ajar and she pushed it open.
He sat behind a massive roll top desk,
his fingers flying over his laptop keyboard. The intensely focused look on his
face made her pause.
“Morning, Peaches,” he greeted her
softly without looking up.
The greeting raised her mood a notch,
and she breathed a little easier than she had a minute ago. But the ache didn’t
totally subside. She moved forward and sank into the seat across his desk.
“You wear reading glasses?” Heck, even
they were sexy. Black, narrow square rims framed his eyes perfectly and
increased his sexiness by at least another thousand degrees.
He stopped typing and looked up. Grey
eyes speared hers. Seeing the familiar hunger in them gave her another tiny
boost of confidence. Whatever was going on, sex was still very much a live and
potent thing between them. “Why does that surprise you?” he asked.
“Because you’re inhuman every where
else. You fuck me like you can fuck forever—”
“I can,” he stated with no hint of
arrogance. A tingle started deep in her belly.
“But you need glasses to read words on
a page?”
He smiled as he plucked them off his
face. But when his eyes met hers, they were intensely serious. “My eyes may not
be perfect, but when you’re in my presence all I see is you, Bethany. Only you.
And when it comes to you, my vision is fucking twenty-twenty.”
Jesus
.
How could he say things like that to
her and yet not let her in? “You were gone when I woke up.”
“You were sleeping so peacefully, I
didn’t have the heart to wake you. You were tired after yesterday. I didn’t
think it was fair to disturb you.”
She nodded, and her eyes flicked to his
laptop. “And now I’m disturbing you. You looked so serious just now.”
“I was trying to get stuff done before
you woke up.”
“Why?”
He toyed with the handled of his
glasses. “Because I want to devote today to what makes you happy.” His words,
like so many before, spoken without guile or adornment, stunned her. He was
making her seriously fall for him.
Hell,
who
was
she kidding? She
had
fallen hard. She
had fallen fast, and there would be no turning back. No matter the consequences.
No matter that she knew my heart would break in a billion tiny pieces in the
end.
Go for broke. “The only way you can
make me unhappy is if you push me away,” she said boldly.
