If You Were Mine (26 page)

such a good job of it on the race track.”

He was a guy. And he was horny as hel around Heather,

especialy with her stripped half-naked. But he wasn’t stupid.

She’d obviously seen the trophy girls congratulating him on

the track. And it had upset her.

“I’m not going to screw around on you, Heather.”

He watched surprise and hope flicker in her eyes, before

she tamped them down. “You don’t owe me any promises. It’s

just sex. That’s al we’re doing.
Having sex.
”

Anger rose in him, just as hot as hers. “Are you going to

sleep with anyone else while we’re together?”

“No.” She looked like she couldn’t believe he’d asked her

that question. “God, no.”

“Then why are you assuming I’l do it?”

She looked at him like he was a complete idiot. “It’s what

every guy does.”

“No,” he told her, “not every guy. Not
me.”
Frustration

“No,” he told her, “not every guy. Not
me.”
Frustration

had him saying, “I’m not your father, damn it.”

But she was shaking her head and trying to push him away.

“I saw you with those girls at the racetrack. I saw you put your

hands on them.”

“To push them away, not pul them in closer!”

He wouldn’t let her go, wouldn’t let her leave his arms in

anger when the only thing that had gotten him through the past

thirty hours was the thought of having her back in them. “Can’t

you see you’re the only one I can even think about? The only

one I want? Don’t you understand that I’m losing my mind over

you?”

She looked stunned by what he’d just said, as stunned as

he felt himself.

“Please kiss me, Zach. Just kiss me.”

Just as wiling as she was to let his words go, he kissed the

breath from her lungs while stripping off her jeans and making

short work of his own.

Jesus, he loved her mouth against his, loved her softness,

loved those little sounds she made when he touched her just

right. He slid into her slick heat, and she was so responsive she

was coming almost the second he touched her between her legs.

At the last second, he realized he’d somehow forgotten to

put on a condom. Somehow he managed to tough it out through

her orgasm. She made a sound of protest when he puled out

and he pressed a kiss to the inside of her thighs as he kneeled

down to grab a condom from his pants.

He sat down on her desk chair and quickly shoved it on,

He sat down on her desk chair and quickly shoved it on,

then reached for her and puled her onto his lap, loving the feeling

of sinking deep into her al over again. He could tel how much

she liked it from the way she gasped as he filed her al the way

up.

“It’s your turn now,” she said as she wiggled her perfect

rear end over his thighs.

“My turn,” he growled against her neck, licking, kissing,

nipping his way down to her breasts, which were stil trying to

come free from her bra, “and yours, too.”

He found he liked her breasts trapped behind cotton like

that, liked having to work to taste her, to run his tongue inside

the top edge of the fabric to tease the taut flesh, until her inner

muscles tightened down over him and he finaly gave up his own

control and came with her.

“I love it when you smel like sex.” He buried his nose in the

crook of her neck and licked at the sweat drying on her skin.

Their quickie should at least have taken the edge off his need for

her...but it hadn’t done a damn thing to make him want her less.

“I love it when you taste like sex, too.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before he realized Cuddles

was at their feet, rubbing against his shins.

On a gasp, Heather shifted and looked over her shoulder to

find Atlas lying on the pilow in the corner, blinking up at the two

of them.

“Oh my God, I forgot about the dogs.” She hopped off his

lap to search for her clothes. “Atlas has never seen...I’ve always

been realy careful to go into the bedroom when I...”

been realy careful to go into the bedroom when I...”

She looked horrified as she stuttered out partial sentences.

And so damn adorable with that flush on her cheeks that he had

to go give her a kiss even as he laughed at her.

“He’s a big boy. He’l get over it.”

“I’m surprised he didn’t freak out, actualy, seeing you over

me like that.” She was flushing even more now as she puled her

jeans back up and grabbed her shirt from the floor.

“He didn’t freak out because he knows who the boss is.”

She yanked down her shirt. “Me. I’m the boss.”

He puled on his clothes, then scooped up Cuddles, who

licked him with undisguised glee al over his face and neck.

“Right. You’re the boss.”

She pushed her damp hair off her face. “I should have

known you’d be even more insufferable after winning your

completely pointless race.” She moved over to her desk and

began to put it back to rights. “Some of us have work to do.”

He was about to reach for her again, when a knock

sounded on her door.

“Heather?” Her assistant sounded worried about something

more than just interrupting her boss having sex in her office.

“Your parents are here.”

Oh God
. She’d forgotten about her father’s phone cal

earlier that week. Working to try to keep her panic from taking

earlier that week. Working to try to keep her panic from taking

over, Heather looked down at herself, then over at Zach.

“They’re going to know what we were doing.”

What, she silently berated herself as she made sure

everything was zipped and buttoned, had she been thinking,

having sex in her office?

That was just the thing. She hadn’t been thinking. The

second Zach had walked in, she’d lost al control of her

synapses—and her hormones. Her reaction to him was that

instinctive, that primal.

He put down the puppy and moved closer to undo the

tangles he’d just put into her hair.

“You look great, just like you always do.” His mouth left

hers tingling again before he said, “Don’t worry, Heather. It’l be

al right.” She just shook her head at him, but he gently cupped

her cheek and said, “I’ve got your back.”

She didn’t know how he always managed to do that, to

completely turn her inside out no matter the circumstance, but for

once she was glad for the way just one soft kiss—and a handful

of sweetly confident words—had her unable to focus al of her

energies on being completely freaked out about her parents’

visit.

He put his hand on the doorknob. “We’ve got this,

Heather.”

Strangely, even though they’d been caught barely seconds

post-sex, she did feel a whole lot more able to deal with her

parents with Zach than she normaly did on her own.

parents with Zach than she normaly did on her own.

She’d seen him in action enough by then not to be surprised

by the way he had her mother eating out of his hand within

seconds of saying helo. Her father, however, was slightly less

than his usual charming self.

Then again, had any man ever come even close to out-

charming him?

“Heather?” Her mother’s eyes moved from Zach to

Heather, then to the desk they’d made a mess of. “Is this a bad

time?”

Belatedly, Heather realized she’d forgotten to put her shoes

back on. She moved to quickly slip them on, but not quickly

enough for her parents not to notice what she was doing.

Her father puled her into a hug before she could act fast

enough to step out of reach. “My precious girl. How your

mother and I have missed you.”

When she was actualy a girl, she’d loved the way he’d

come home from a business trip and hug her and tel her how

much loved her, that she was the center of his world. But she

hadn’t been that naïve for a very long time. She knew better than

to think anyone was the center of her father’s world but himself.

Her father didn’t take his arm from around her waist, as

though he was trying to make some kind of statement to Zach

about whom she realy belonged to. Atlas stood up, his ruff

bristling, and she was glad to be able to use him as a reason to

move away from her father.

He frowned at her dog. “Does he sit in your office al day?”

Heather ran a comforting hand down her dog’s back. Atlas

Heather ran a comforting hand down her dog’s back. Atlas

had never liked her father. “Yes.”

Clearly not impressed with her answer, he asked, “Didn’t

you get my message last week?”

“I apologize for not caling you back. This week has been

realy busy.” She tried not to flush at the memory of what she

and Zach had just been busy doing, especialy when her father

looked between the two of them again, his frown deepening.

If only she’d remembered to cal him back, then she could

have invented a buletproof excuse. Maybe even taken an

impromptu trip out of town for a few days to somewhere she

couldn’t be reached.

“I hope you’re not too busy to spend a few hours with us,”

he said, effectively trapping her into an evening together.

Thankfuly, Cuddles chose that moment to start barking,

puling attention away from her for just long enough to regain her

equilibrium and to figure out how to respond. Zach had watched

the exchange in silence and she guessed that he had quickly

taken her parents’ measure.

She shot him a look that she hoped he could read as wel

as he read her thoughts in bed:
Please don’t leave me alone

with them.

Zach picked up the barking puppy and smiled at her,

before turning that beautiful face of his on her parents. “Heather

and I would be very pleased if you joined us tonight at 212

Stockton
.
”

Heather tried not to act surprised that he’d just named one

of the hottest new restaurants in San Francisco. Even now that

of the hottest new restaurants in San Francisco. Even now that

she knew how wealthy he was—and how wel connected via his

famous siblings—the fact that he did absolutely nothing to

broadcast his wealth had her completely forgetting about it.

She could tel from the look on her father’s face that he

knew just how hard it was to get a table at that restaurant.

Clearly, not only could he not believe a guy in wrinkled jeans and

a T-shirt had the pul to get one, but he wished he’d thought to

do it first.

Her mother’s eyes were wide as she responded, “I just

saw a piece about 212 Stockton on TV. It’s owned by a group

of movie stars and bilionaires.”

Her father’s expression darkened. “Al I want is to spend

quality time with my little girl, not rub shoulders with a bunch of

stars with more money than morals.”

Fairly certain that Zach’s brother Smith was likely one of

the “moral-free movie stars,” Heather said, “Why don’t I show

you some of the improvements I’ve made to the training areas?”

No doubt her parents would quiz her endlessly about Zach, and

nitpick al the parts of her business that weren’t shiny and

perfect, but even though she would have loved to lean on him,

her parents weren’t his battle to fight. They were hers.

Only, Zach didn’t look the least bit upset about her father’s

comment. If anything, he looked more relaxed than

usual...reminding her of a deadly predator about to strike.

Turning the ful focus of his attention to her, Zach said, “I

know you have some important business to finish up,” as he

know you have some important business to finish up,” as he

gently brushed a lock of hair back from her forehead and tucked

it behind her ear. It was a move made even more spectacularly

protective—and possessive—by how casual it was.

“I’l show your parents around so that you can get back to

work.”

Heather knew firsthand that Zach was a master at getting

exactly what he wanted. But to witness him outmaneuvering her

father made her glad.

And scared the bejesus out of her.

A few moments later, when her mother and father had no

choice but to folow Zach and Cuddles out of her office, Heather

sat down on the office chair she would never look at in the same

way after what she and Zach had done on it.

Yet again, she reflected on the way Zach Sulivan had

infiltrated every part of her life in one short week.

Thank God.

* * *

made sure to treat his employees right and his family was never