The Maverick's Red Hot Reunion (Entangled Indulgence) (7 page)

“I want to tell him first,” Kennedy said, moving inside the restaurant, forcing Zach to lose his hold on her waist.

She rushed to Michael’s side and pulled out a chair to sit close to him. Zach reached them just as Kennedy held out her hand and placed it into Michael’s. “Isn’t this awesome?” she asked. “We’re engaged again.”

Michael covered her hand with his, hiding the ring, then looked at Kennedy with narrowed eyes before glancing at Zach. “This true?” he asked. “’Cause the last time I checked you were about to steal Kennedy’s company from under her ass.”

“It was all a misunderstanding,” Zach said smoothly. “It was supposed to be a surprise wedding present. Guess I’ll have to come up with something better now.”

“And you all have talked?” Michael asked.

Kennedy shook her head ever so slightly, almost in warning. “Everything’s cool,” she said.

Suspicion crept into Zach’s mind, but before he could ask what Michael meant, Hannah piped up. “Let’s order champagne. Celebrate the happy couple.” Then she whipped out her cell phone. “I’m texting my parents right now. They’ll want to know.”

Kennedy stopped her. “If you tell your mom, then she’ll beat me to the punch and try to contact my folks. I really want to tell them myself after their cruise docks in Fort Lauderdale.”

“And if you text them, Mom will want to come to the hotel now,” Michael added. “I need a break from all her mother hen hovering.”

“All right,” Hannah said reluctantly, then put her phone on the table.

Zach and Kennedy gave each other relieved looks. They’d dodged a major bullet on that one. He still had memories about the day he’d faced Kennedy’s father and mother with the news that she was pregnant. After their initial shock had worn off, they’d been thrilled with the news about Kennedy and Zach’s wedding plans, but still the wrath of a father protecting his little girl didn’t evaporate, no matter how old his daughter.

He’d rather face a boardroom full of angry investors than Kennedy’s father on a mad tear.

Zach ordered a top dollar bottle of champagne and they settled into an easy conversation. “Nice wheels, Michael.” He had to acknowledge the change without making it heavy.

Michael grinned, backed up, and swiveled the chair to the left and right. “It’s got a nineteen point five turning radius and a max speed of four point five miles per hour. Makes me the coolest uncle in town.”

No. The wheelchair wasn’t a V-rod, but Michael being Michael had already personalized the chair with candy red pearl accents and customized upholstery. “Smooth ride,” Zach said.

Kennedy pointed to the course’s eighteenth hole. “Remember when y’all played here for your twenty-third birthday?”

“Sam and Fred’s makeshift martini bar almost got us kicked out.” Zach avoided looking at the wheelchair again and stared through the window. He wondered how many more birthdays they’d celebrate together. At that time, their fraternity brothers had joined them. “Stellar idea using the cart’s golf bag section to hold their contraband liquor.”

“Tied their clubs to the cart’s roof.” Michael laughed, the sound not as strong as Zach wanted to hear. “Genius.”

“How in the heck did you get away with it?” Kennedy asked.

“Zach tips extremely well. Plus he floated the Tanner Enterprises’ company name to keep the course’s golf warden off our backs,” Michael said. “Now that he owns this hotel, I bet they’ll let him get away with it again.”

“Say the word, and I’ll make it happen,” Zach said.

Their server returned with a magnum bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne and four flutes. After popping the cork with only a whisper of sound, she deftly poured a taste for Zach. At his agreement, the flutes were filled.

“To Zach and Kennedy.” Michael raised his glass, his hand trembling slightly. “And to their future.”

“To the future,” everyone echoed, and clinked glasses.

After they sipped their champagne, Zach watched Hannah gently take the glass from her brother and place it on the table. “One sip. That’s it,” she said.

“Spoil sport,” he teased. “You just want more for yourself.”

“True. But don’t let it get out that I’m a champagne snob,” Hannah said.

“If I can’t drink all this expensive bubbly, I do expect to see my two favorite people kiss—you know, just in case I can’t make the wedding due to a previous appointment.”

Zach couldn’t deny the underlying truth in Michael’s words. But he sure as hell wanted to pretend that there was no way his friend would miss his wedding, albeit a fake one at this point.

“You got it.” He curled his hand behind Kennedy’s neck and drew her closer, her mouth a scant distance from his. He could see a faint drop of moisture on her lower lip and the thought of drawing it into his mouth shot hot blood to his groin. Her breath, a sweet mix of champagne and pure Kennedy, teased his senses.

Her eyes held his, glittering and sharp as the gems in her diamond. Oh, he knew she hated this. Hated faking the arrangement. Hated him. And damned if he didn’t hate himself for doing this to them. Still, he had to put on a show.

Zach brushed her mouth ever so slightly, then drew away.

“You call that a kiss?” Michael demanded.

Kennedy’s face flushed. “We’re in public,” she said primly.

“Like that ever stopped you before,” Hannah teased. “Scandalous public displays of affection were your middle names five years ago.”

“Yeah, that was a weenie kiss.” Michael clinked his glass with his spoon. “Show us some tongue action.”

Michael had no idea what kind of action was going on downstairs in his pants, but Zach had no choice. Despite Kennedy’s current mental state about this situation, he had to show Michael how much he wanted her. How much he cared. And Zach knew she’d respond without a fight. Because no matter how much she denied it, Kennedy still wanted him.

…

Kennedy watched the play of emotions on Zach’s handsome face. Desire. Sadness. Hope. Regret. All of them matched her internal war. How could she deny Michael’s request when she still yearned to feel Zach’s arms around her, but that yearning warred with confusion and disappointment.

She quickly glanced at Hannah and Michael, both expectant and grinning. Co-conspirators at work again, their spoons tinkling against their flutes. Around her other diners leaned a little closer, waiting for the moment, stealthily participating in the privacy of what should be a joyful occasion.

Kennedy had little choice but to comply. “Come here, big boy,” she said, twining her hands around Zach’s neck and drawing him near. “Let’s show them how it’s done.”

His mouth locked with hers, slanting across her lips, tentative, then more bold. She opened hers to welcome the slide of his tongue. His possession was deep and penetrating and beyond exhilarating. Time slipped…

And another kiss, another engagement, another joyful celebration melded with this moment. She clung to the memory. And now she held onto the man who’d once been the very reason she had believed in love.

This was a coming home. A strange revisit to a place beyond the desire she’d denied. The same denial that had driven Zach to convince her to accept this fake engagement.

And she couldn’t let him go.

Over and over they kissed until a faint applause and more clinking brought her out of the haze, and she drew back, swallowing the love that still bubbled within. She couldn’t trust Zach. Not when he constantly tried to manipulate the world around him and attempted to force events that were out of his control to conform to his will.

“Well, that was a hell of a kiss,” Hannah said softly.

“Reminded me of old times,” Michael agreed.

Old times that had been better kept in the attic of her mind, but now that they’d begun this crazy game, Kennedy could only nod and smile. “Oh, yeah, Zach’s still the best kisser in town.”

At least that fact hadn’t changed over the years. If only he’d learned to accept the harsher truths of life. Then maybe, just maybe, they might have had a chance for a real reunion.

Now she’d settle for giving Michael a dose of feel-good-about-the-future as a temporary balm to soothe the darkness of his grim prognosis.

Chapter Seven

“Do you think Michael bought our story?” Kennedy asked, toeing off her sexy shoes after they stepped into their suite.

Her pink toenail polish caught his eye. His groin tightened. Damn, he’d forgotten how dainty Kennedy was underneath all that brass and sass.

Zach shrugged off his coat and draped it on the chair next to the computer desk. “Hell, we put on such a good show, even I halfway believe this engagement is real.”

“That’s the only thing that matters. I’m just glad he’s willing to keep it a secret until I can tell my parents in person. ”

“You’re lucky his mom wasn’t there.”

“No kidding.” She stretched her arms overhead. “Shannon Sullivan has fey blood. She’d figure out the truth in a heartbeat. And I don’t want my mom and dad to deal with this lie.”

Her dress molded across her full breasts. His blood thundered in his ears. He wanted to close the distance between them, caress her. “No shit.” He undid his collar’s top button. “Last man I want to piss off is your dad.”

“True.”

Her glance lowered to where he’d exposed his skin. She flushed and the pulse in the hollow of her throat fluttered wildly. “Stroke of genius to talk about Michael’s next fundraiser and have it tie in with the resort’s soft opening in December.” She opened the fully stocked bar’s fridge. “Promoting the ALS Association’s commitment to finding a cure will give Michael something positive to focus on versus worrying about his friends getting along.”

Zach swiped a hand through his hair. “Thanks. He’s already tweeting about it. His former Olympic swim team is getting involved, too.”

“I’m glad. He needs to have something good come out of this diagnosis. And it can’t just revolve around us getting back together. Now he’ll be too busy organizing fundraisers to question our reunion, but I recommend you keep your distance from Hannah. I swear she’s got to be psychic.” She withdrew two glasses from the bar’s cabinet. “I don’t think she believes our story, but she’ll buy into it for Michael’s sake.”

Zach’s fingers itched to touch Kennedy. The wanting had only increased as the day had progressed. “Five more nights, and we’re in the clear,” he said.

He crossed the room to join Kennedy at the bar, then lifted a bottle of iced chardonnay from the bucket that he’d ordered earlier from room service. “Gotta admit that other than faking our engagement, I had a great time.” He popped the cork out, then poured two glasses.

“It was good hearing Michael laugh.” She took the glass from him, careful to avoid his fingers, and sipped. “But I’ll be glad when this is over. I hate the lies.”

Kennedy’s full lips glistened. His blood flowed south. One kiss, another taste of her succulent mouth, would drive him over the edge. “Really?” he asked. “I could have sworn you enjoyed that kiss Michael egged us into doing.”

Her breath hitched. “What can I say?” she asked. “It’s been a long time since I’ve locked lips with a guy. And for what it’s worth, your kisses aren’t what I hate.”

“I don’t think you know what you love or hate, Kennedy.” But he sure as hell wanted to know before he left Sweetbriar Springs for good. “I’ve already assured Michael that I’m not stealing your company. So tell me. What do you want to come out of all this bullshit we’re going through for Michael’s sake?”

“Closure. A way to move on without anyone getting hurt.” She held his gaze. “But right now all I want is a long, hot soak in the Jacuzzi.”

A vision of her slipping out of her feminine dress and into the swirling water slammed into his brain. Memories of other steamy sex-capades in the resort’s hot springs pinged. His arousal strained against his pants. Oh, yeah, he could get into a trip down memory lane if it included him in the picture.

He raised a brow. “Mind if I join you?”

Her hand trembled and a drop of wine slipped over the brim. “I prefer to bathe in private.” She kept her voice strong and firm.

He moved his finger up the length of her bare arm. “You used to love it when I scrubbed your back.”

An electric current sparked between them. The fine hairs on her arm stood at attention as if on high alert. He circled the tiny goose bumps where her sensitive skin had fired. He knew exactly how she’d respond to him once he tossed away the loofah to replace it with his hands and mouth.

“It’s bad enough there’s only one bedroom.” She jerked her arm away. “I’m sure as heck not giving you a peep show on top of it.”

“You know you want to,” Zach said.

She blushed a deep shade of copper. “I’m not twenty-one and reckless anymore.” She swatted his powerful hand. “Even if I did want to have sex with you again, I’m not the kind of girl who’ll just hop into bed without a little prelude, Tanner.”

“What kind of prelude do you suggest?” he asked. ’Cause he had plenty of sexy ideas about where to start seducing Kennedy.

She held his gaze. “Not the kind you’re thinking about.”

“Keep talking,” he said.

“Wow, the mighty Zach Tanner is willing to listen. That’s a first.”

“Sure thing. If it’ll get you to stop denying the truth, I’m all ears.” He’d listen long enough to figure out how to deal with his current state of arousal. And hers. Then maybe he’d figure out how to deal with the fact that he’d missed her more than he’d expected. Hell, he missed more than the sex, he missed the friendship they’d once shared. Today had only reinforced it. Now he was kicking himself in the proverbial gut for damning them both to a fake fairy tale hell.

“
If
I were to sleep with you again, I’d expect you to treat me like all the women you’ve dated since we broke up.” She flipped her vibrant hair over her shoulders and placed her hand on her hip. “I’d want formal dates—a real seduction.”

A flash of something wild and savage and primal glittered in Kennedy’s slanted emerald eyes. Here was the woman Zach had pursued, caught, and with whom he finally shared boundless passion. She’d once challenged him to unearth the sensual, feminine seductress hiding behind the rough tomboy talk and construction boot swagger.

That she’d kept tabs on him during the years since they’d broken up surprised him. He thought she hadn’t cared. Now he knew differently. That unnerved him. And it confused the shit out of him. He’d gone to extreme lengths to force her to admit that she still wanted him, but in the process had he lost a chance for a real reunion?

But the question was moot. He’d made a commitment to his father and he refused to give up the recognition he’d finally received from the man.

“We don’t have time for dating,” he said. “We’re here for Michael.”

“Exactly.” Kennedy’s hair tumbled around her face, and her floral dress’s short hemline shimmied across her long, curvaceous legs. “And he’s happy now. But what happens after we ‘break up?’ We have got to find a way to be friends again for his sake.”

Zach’s heart thundered in his ears, lust slammed him low and deep, everything in him wanted to take her. End this madness now. Release them from the torturous longing. Without the romancing she demanded. Then he wouldn’t have to examine the reasons behind the wanting.

He clasped his hands behind his back. Inhaled deeply, then released his breath. His racing pulse slowed to a notch above normal.

He swallowed hard. “I’ll take you on
dates
,” he said. “But nothing will change the fact that I’m leaving in January.”

He watched the flush creeping up her neck. She was as physically aware of him now as she had been five years ago.

“The last thing I want is for you to stay,” she answered, not breaking her eye contact. “I’m doing this to protect Michael. No way do I want to disappoint him.”

“We’re even on that score,” Zach said. “I want him to focus on getting well, not to dwell on matchmaking screwups.”

“Maybe we all would have been better off if he had never introduced us in the first place,” Kennedy said, her eyes blazing bright. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to take a bath. Solo.” She turned and walked into the bathroom, leaving him standing in the room’s suite.

Zach was completely alone. Completely aroused. And completely unable to act on the need pulsing deep in his groin. Even worse, a primitive, primal yearning, beyond taking Kennedy physically, coursed through his veins.

This woman. This bold, brilliant, bewildering woman had been the catalyst for all the changes he’d made five years ago. He’d claimed the power his father had offered and had expanded Tanner Enterprises into a multi-billion dollar conglomerate. Everything he’d acquired during the time they’d been apart was supposed to fix his wounded soul. Kennedy’s rejection after they’d lost their baby so late in the pregnancy had shattered him. How could he still care after what she’d said to him? Yes, he wanted her in his bed again. But acting on that desire without knowing why Kennedy had driven him away wouldn’t give him what he wanted most.

The truth.

He wanted her to tell him why she’d ended their relationship without giving them a second chance.

Zach touched the cool, uninviting bronze handle and pressed his forehead against the bathroom’s mahogany door. Closing his eyes, he inhaled a whisper of her floral scent. A scent with a sensual and seductive allure designed to ensnare a man. A scent he’d given to her as a gift years ago.

A scent she’d continued to use long after their breakup.

His pulse increased. Why Kennedy had chosen to surround herself with things that reminded her of their relationship mystified him. Restless, wanting and needing her in ways he’d never expected, Zach tamped down the urge to bust through the door and gain entry into her temporary sanctuary. He pushed away from the door, walked to the room’s computer desk and buried himself in plans, calculations, and corporate directives.

But work had no power to quench his raging desire for Kennedy.

Nor did the vision emerging from the bathroom an hour later.

…

By asking for dates with Zach versus yielding to her body’s demand for a fast, let’s-get-this-over-with lovemaking session, Kennedy had created additional personal sexual frustration. Her bath had done little to ease her mounting tension. After she’d dried off and dressed, her frustration doubled. And it tripled as soon as she stepped out of the bathroom into the suite’s low amber light and saw Zach.

He’d rolled up his shirtsleeves and loosened additional shirt buttons. His left forearm muscle rippled as his pen
scritch-scratched
across the legal pad. The computer’s screen halo circled around him, giving him a sheen of strength and vitality.

His brown eyes focused on the pages and his brow was slightly furrowed, just begging for a smoothing hand. Oh, a small part of her longed to bridge the distance of time to be that soothing comfort.

In honesty, that same small part longed to lose all the seriousness underlying their day with a sensual, playful coupling. But Zach had cornered her into accepting this ridiculous engagement and she refused to cave in to her hormones’ baser demands.

Kennedy twisted her robe’s turquoise ties into a half bowknot. “The bathroom’s all yours,” she said.

He glanced away from his computer and gazed down the length of her body. “Nice robe. You hiding anything special beneath it?”

A sharp ache tugged low in her belly, then coiled deeper inside her. She had never worn the satin slips of decadence she’d chosen to wear tonight for their original purpose—a Tuscan honeymoon. They’d remained buried in the darkest corner of her closet until she’d packed them for this trip.

She suppressed a sigh, then tilted her chin a notch. “Sure am.”

“Enjoy yourself in there?” he asked.

He sounded detached, but she could see the muscle jumping in his jaw and the movement of his mouth as he struggled to control his physical reaction.

And his eyes, dark and delicious, couldn’t hide his masculine interest.

Nor his sinful, seductive suggestion.

Her freshly scrubbed skin tingled.

Don’t delude yourself. He’s tougher and edgier. You can’t give yourself to him no matter how much you want him. Not now.

“The jets worked their magic,” she said, crossing her fingers behind her back. Her bath hadn’t relaxed her one bit. Instead of washing away her concerns, she’d stoked other memories while lingering inside the Jacuzzi’s swirling waters.

Memories that included Zach, the hot springs, and steamy, intimate encounters.

He folded his arms behind his head and lifted his brows. “Glad the jets got lucky.”

She clenched her fists, unfurled the digits one at a time, and then injected a light airy tone into her voice. “Bed or couch?”

Without speaking, he indicated the couch.

“Great. You need anything from the bedroom before you turn in?”

“No.” He leaned back. “Not unless you’re offering to share the sheets.”

“Hardly.”

“You might change your mind after our date tomorrow.”

“That would take a lot of convincing, Tanner.” She worked her way to the bedroom door. “I’m hitting the hotel’s exclusive boutiques tomorrow with Hannah after we have breakfast with Michael.”

His smile didn’t expose his teeth. “Excellent idea. I’ll make sure they’ve got one of everything in your size.”

“You trying to impress me?” she asked, putting a hand on her hip.

“No. Just making sure you have a good experience.”

A note of sexual suggestion underscored his tone. Her heart flipped and every desperate girl part zipped into a happy dance. Dear lord, resisting him when he was so damned accommodating would be difficult. “I’ll have loads of fun spending your money.” She pressed a hand against her chest, willing her racing heart to slow. “Where are you taking me?”