The Last Boyfriend (14 page)

“I don’t share.” He spoke
softer this time. “I want your body all to myself.”

“So you think you’re going
to have my body?”

“Only if you want me
to.”

“Okay.” I laughed at the
look on Zane’s face as he heard my response.

“Just okay? No yes or
no?”

“I have to think about it.”
I smiled. “Now, can I watch my movie?”

“I suppose, seeing as it’s
been a long day, you can watch your movie.”

“Why thank you, kind sir, I
do appreciate it.” I spoke in my Southern accent again.

“I’m glad you find it
agreeable, ma’am.” Zane laughed and leaned over and kissed me on
the cheek. “A man, such as myself, likes a woman to be soft and
pliant.” He whispered in my ear, and before I could respond
indignantly, he was kissing me. I kissed him back, passionately and
closed my eyes. I could get used to these moments, I
thought.

Chapter 9

“Welcome to Los Angeles.”
Zane grinned at me as he pulled into a parking space.

“I can’t believe you let me
sleep the drive away. I didn’t see a thing.” I yawned as I
stretched in my seat.

“You needed your beauty
sleep.”

“I guess so.” I stepped out
of the car and looked at the building in front of me. It looked
like a grand Spanish house. “You said you live in a
condo?”

“It doesn’t look like a
condo, does it?” He grinned.

“No. It
doesn’t.”

“I decided to bring you to
my casa in Los Feliz instead.” He grabbed the bags and I followed
him to the front door.

“Why?” I was puzzled at the
change in destination.

“No reason.” He opened the
big wooden door and I followed him inside. I was immediately struck
at how different the interior of this home was to his place in
Miami. The floors were a golden brown hardwood that ran from the
front door all the way to the French doors at the end of the large
room. From the front of the house, I could see the garden outside,
and it looked lush and green with different plants and flowers. The
lights at the back coupled with the moonlight made his garden look
magical. “Welcome to my home.” Zane put the bags down and ushered
me in properly.

“Thanks.” My voice was
small as I took in my surroundings. I was in awe at just how
perfect his home was. There was a large white couch to the
immediate right of me and it had bright orange throw pillows that
seemed to accent the cream and orange rug on the floor. There was a
huge fireplace to the right of the rug and on top of the
mantelpiece there were little ornaments. There were paintings all
along the walls, but I didn’t recognize any of them from any of my
art classes or trips to museums.

“Do you like?” Zane asked
me quietly and I could sense that he was really interested in my
opinion.

“I really really love it,
Zane.” I gushed. “It’s so different from your place in
Miami.”

“That’s really Noah’s
place.” He explained. “This is my house. I chose it and designed
it. This is my style. I’ve never really brought anyone here
before.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” He shuffled his
feet nervously. “I usually take everyone to the condo I share with
Noah. It’s in Burbank.”

“Oh okay.” I offered him a
small smile, while inside, I was beaming. This had to mean
something, right? He had taken me to his real home and not the home
that he has on show.

“Would you like a tour?” He
seemed unsure and that uncertainty endeared me to him even more. He
was like a little boy showing off his favorite toy. My heart went
out to him when I realized that he likely never had a great
childhood and that his image of the world had been shaped by events
that had occurred in his life when he was six.

“I would love a tour. What
are we waiting for?” I linked my arm through his and smiled up at
him enthusiastically.

“Well this is my living
room.”

“Who did the
paintings?”

“I’m involved with a
hospital that does research on children with cancer. These are some
of the children’s paintings.”

“Wow. They are amazing.” I
looked at the paintings and was blown away by the talent of the
children and the fact that Zane had hung their images in frames on
his walls.

“The ornaments on the
mantle-frame are keepsakes I’ve gotten from my travels.”

“Do you like to travel a
lot?”

“I did.” He paused. “My
father used to take us all over the world with him when we were
younger. He had a lot of movie releases in other
countries.”

“That must have been
fun.”

“It was a great way to
learn about other cultures and people. Many of the guys I know, all
they care about is their own small microcosm—it’s all about movies
or parties. There’s more to the world than having a good
time.”

“I agree.”

“But that’s a conversation
for another time. This is my dining room, I got the table, solid
wood by the way, shipped from India.”

“It’s gorgeous.”

“The chairs aren’t very
comfortable, I’m afraid.” He laughed. “I have to get them
replaced.”

“At least they are pretty
to look at.”

“Who know that metal chairs
would be so uncomfortable?”

“Not me.”

“And through here is the
kitchen. Some people don’t like white cabinetry, but I love it, I
think it looks so fresh and clean. I got the hardware at
Anthropologie.”

“I didn’t know guys knew
about Anthropologie.”

“Oh I didn’t. A girl I was
dating at the time took me in one day and I ended up finding quite
a few pieces that I liked.”

“Oh, that’s cool.” I tried
to ignore the knotting jealousy in my stomach. What girl, I thought
to myself. Was she his girlfriend?

“And of course all
stainless steel. And a gas oven.”

“Do you cook a lot
then?”

“No.” He laughed again.
“I’ve thought about getting a cook though.”

“I can cook for you if you
want. I really enjoy cooking.”

“That would be great, if
you didn’t mind, of course.”

“I wouldn’t mind at
all.”

“Awesome. Well let’s go
upstairs. Let me show you the bedrooms.”

“Oh we aren’t going to go
outside?” I pointed to the French doors.

“We can go later. Maybe we
can even go for a swim.”

“You have a pool here?” I
said excitedly.

“Of course.” He grabbed my
hand and we ran up the stairs. It was really light and spacious
with a lot of windows. I was pleased to see carpet on the floors. I
like hardwood a lot, but there is something about having carpet in
the bedrooms that makes you feel more comfortable and at
home.

“Let’s go to my room
first.” He winked and I followed him to a door at the end of the
hallway. I walked in slowly and looked around carefully to see what
I could figure out about him from his room. I was surprised that he
had a queen size bed in the center of his room, and directly
opposite from it, there was a 42-inch flat screen TV hanging on the
wall. His nightstand only contained a lamp and a book, and his
duvet was a navy blue shiny color that I hated. I looked to the
corner of the room and saw a huge bay window. Next to the window,
was a small bookshelf, with well-tousled books that looked like
they had been read and there was a huge chest of drawers against
the wall. I walked over to the bookshelf to see what books he read
and was pleasantly surprised to see the names of authors I loved
and enjoyed as well.

“What’s your favorite
book?” I asked him curiously.

“My favorite? That’s
hard.” He paused. “But my top three would have to be
Crime and Punishment
by
Dostoevsky,
For Whom The Bell Tolls
by
Hemingway, and
Paradise Lost
by Milton.”

“Nice choices.”

“What about
you?”

“Well, I
have to admit, I have a bit of an eclectic taste.” I laughed. “I
love
A Tale of Two Cities
by Dickens, I preferred
The Brothers Karamazov
by
Dostoevsky, and of course my absolute all time favorite is
Little Women
by
Alcott.”

“Classics.” He
grinned.

“Yeah,
but I also love books like
Beautiful Disaster
by Jamie McGuire
and as you know, I’ve read
Fifty
Shades
, and I enjoyed it.”

“Well that’s because you
were training to be a dom.” He laughed. “Or should I say a
sub.”

“I think you should say
nothing.” I laughed.

“I’m afraid I don’t have
any secret pleasure or pain rooms.”

“Wait, how did you know
about the red room of pain?” I asked suspiciously. “Did you read it
as well?”

“Hell no.” He laughed and
shook his head. “Well, not really. I saw part of the movie
script.”

“Oh.” I coughed. “Sure,
that was it.”

“Are you calling me a
liar?” He growled and walked towards me.

“No.”

“Yes, you are.” He grabbed
me and tickled me under my arms until I was squealing and almost
falling to the ground. “Come here you.” Zane pulled me towards him
and put his arms around me. He leaned down and kissed my forehead,
and then my nose and my lips. I melted against him and we stumbled
back onto his bed as we kissed. We fell onto the bed and Zane
pulled away from me slightly. “Are you ready to go to bed?” He
studied my face and I knew he was asking me a completely different
question.

“You haven’t shown me my
room as yet.” I looked away from him quickly, unsure of how to
answer his unspoken question.

“Come on then.” He jumped
off of the bed quickly and I followed him quietly. I had forgotten
how easy he was to move on from everything. I was annoyed at him
and myself for not pushing the issue. “I figured you could have the
room next door.” He spoke in a perfunctory voice, all teasing gone
from his tone.

“It looks very nice. Thank
you.” I looked inside the room and was once again overwhelmed by
just how much the room fit my taste. The walls were a light yellow
and the carpet was plush beneath my feet. I was happy to see that
the bedspread was a luxurious looking cream color and the
pillowcases were peach. There was a bay window in this room as
well, and there was a vanity table and stool on the other side of
the room. This design had definitely been planned with a female in
mind. I wanted to ask him why this room was so feminine; what had
been his plan when he had created this room?

“I’ll go downstairs and
get your bags, and you can get ready for bed,” he said, quite
coldly.

“Oh ok, thanks.” I sat on
the bed as he walked out of the room and sighed. “Are we going to
be working tomorrow?” I asked him when he returned with my
suitcase.

“No.” He shook his head.
“I thought that I would show you around Los Angeles this week and
that we could talk about the project. We will start officially
working next Monday.”

“Okay, that sounds good.”
I smiled, trying to break down his wall.

“I thought we could have a
party in the next two weeks? Just a small one with some of my
friends. That way I can introduce you to some people.”

“That would be great.”
Will Noah be there? I wanted to ask him, but resisted.

“I think I’m going to go
shower. Feel free to help yourself to anything you want in the
kitchen. You have a private bathroom through that door.”

“Are you going to bed?” I
bit my lip, not wanting the day to be done already.

“No, I was thinking of
watching a movie after my shower.” He frowned. “And after I make a
few calls.”

“Can I watch the movie
with you?” I asked hesitantly.

“Sure.” He paused. “If you
don’t mind watching it in my room.”

“That’s no problem.” I
smiled up at him happily.

“Okay. Good.” He smiled
back at me and rubbed his forehead. “I’m glad you’re here,
Lucky.”

“Thanks. I’m glad as
well.” I watched him walk out the door and lay back on the bed as
he closed the door. I closed my eyes and took a big deep breath.
The room smelled of tangerines and honey. I took another deep
breath and stretched on the bed. I opened my eyes and looked around
at the room again. It was beautiful and I was happy to be here. I
jumped up and opened my suitcase, trying to decide what to change
into after the shower. I wanted to make sure I looked cute and
sexy, but not wanton. I didn’t want him to know that I was going
out of my way to look attractive to him. I was disappointed that he
hadn’t tried harder to keep me in his room. I wanted him to seduce
me. I wanted him to want me so badly that he couldn’t keep his
hands off of me. Sometimes I felt as if that was how he felt, but
other times, I felt as if he couldn’t be bothered at all. I decided
to wear a pair of gym shorts and a tank top—relaxing, casual, and
slightly sexy, if Leeza was to be believed. I was just about to go
into the bathroom when my phone rang.