Dear Diary, he’s dreamy!
Maddie half-stifled a chuckle at the wayward thought as she walked out of the en suite to find Zach still asleep. He slept on his front and the covers had ridden down to just short of total exposure.
He’d come to her last night. She had no idea what time he finally got to her place. She’d fallen asleep at some point, only waking when he got into bed and brushed his lips on hers. She wanted to be awake. Seductive when he got there. Instead, she’d been asleep and probably drooling.
She really hoped that wasn’t the case.
Outside her bedroom, the sun gave off a hazy glow in its effort to break through the remaining storm clouds from yesterday. At least the storm was over. For that, she was happy. Last night had been the weirdest she’d ever experienced. Larry had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, scaring seven years off her life. Then as he was about to leave, he gave her a pair of her panties he claimed to have found on her driveway. She’d hastily taken them from him and had breathed again when he turned, reminded her to let him know when she was ready to have him look at her lights, then disappeared into the gloom.
The lighting she would have fixed, but she wasn’t sure she’d trust the job to Larry. He was getting a little too ... bold.
Maddie let her gaze take a leisurely stroll down the beautifully tanned, sculpted triangle of Zach’s lean back, over the deep groove of his spine between the developed muscles. Desire rushed through her, softening her body even as it sped up her heart rate.
She ran her palms down the sides of her robe in an effort to dull the whim to go over and swat his fantastic butt.
“Why don’t you bring those naughty thoughts back to bed?” His voice, muffled by the pillow, was low and suggestive—just the right amount of newly awake husk to make her want to slide back between the sheets with him.
She gave a guilty start; glad his head was still under the pillow and he hadn’t witnessed it.
“You’re awake.” Her voice sounded breathy, and it had nothing to do with how tightly she’d pulled the belt of her bathrobe around her waist. Why couldn’t she have run into the vicar next week? Or two weeks ago? “Great. Hit the shower, we have church in fifty minutes.”
He rolled unto his back, groaning as he repositioned the pillow under his head. “You’re kidding. What happened to Sunday mornings lazing in bed?”
When the covers slipped across his muscle-packed stomach toward the floor, revealing the entire length of one of Zach’s rugby-player thighs, she groaned too. And his thigh wasn’t the only hard part of his anatomy she noticed. Her body tingled with hunger. Did the man always wake primed and ready for action? A gulp resounded off her dry throat. She hoped he hadn’t heard her reaction.
His chuckle proved he had. He widened his eyes in mock-innocence as he pushed himself up on an elbow and let his gaze glide over her. “Why, Maddison, you’re blushing.”
Suddenly conscious of her face, scrubbed clean, and the towel wrapped turban style around her freshly washed hair, she wished she’d thought to get dressed and do her make-up in the bathroom.
Why she should feel awkward about it now was beyond her. Zach had seen her in worse condition hundreds of times in the past. But that was when she was just out of her teens. The difference between twenty-two and thirty-two was the option to leave the house without makeup.
Zach patted the mattress next to him, waggled his brows, and grinned. “Why don’t you come over here and tell me all about what’s making you blush so delightfully, Miss Botella.”
Like a spontaneous effect, his words had her sight following the line of silky hair arrowing down from his navel.
“As if you didn’t know.”
His gaze snagged hers, grew slumberous with desire. His voice, when he spoke, was an octave lower.
“Come here.”
Maddie let her attention drop to his mouth. It looked delicious and very, very tempting.
Although her stomach leapt with fizzy excitement, she forced her feet to stay put.
“Zach, you’re going to make us late for church.”
“Can’t you skip it this Sunday? Spend the day in bed with me instead?”
A heavenly invitation, but she’d already agreed to make an effort today. Remaining glued to the spot while she leered at Zach wasn’t going to do her any favours if she wanted to get to church before the first hymn.
Ignoring his potent pull, she headed in the direction of her dresser to collect fresh underwear. “Very tempting, but I promised the vicar I’d be there this week. I’ve been busy lately and she’s noticed my lax.”
He was watching every move she made; she could feel the heat of his gaze as she moved from the dresser to her walk-in wardrobe.
“A woman who keeps her promises, I could get used to that.” Zach’s tone may have been teasing but when Maddie glanced over her shoulder, she caught a soberness in his gaze that made her wonder whether his words carried deeper meaning.
Her heart went out to him.
Whether he admitted it or not, Kimber’s betrayal must’ve devastated him.
It was this thought that had Maddie sliding onto the bed and into Zach’s embrace. His palm massaged the back of her neck while he devoured her mouth, his tongue soft as it glided past her parted lips to intertwine with hers in a slow in-and-out caress that tore a moan from her.
She ran her hands over his chest, the convex of his pecs, and his shoulders in a slow caress. When she scraped her nails lightly back down, he gave a shudder of pleasure and deepened the kiss as he pulled the towel from her hair.
The heat of his hands in her damp hair sent warm sensations down her spine, and his teeth grazing her throat drew tiny tremors over her skin.
“Later.” She moaned the promise, more for her sake than Zach’s because she was entirely too close to staying right where she was with him.
His mouth found hers again.
She wanted this. But she also wanted to ask him about his divorce without his lovemaking altering her perception and muddling her thoughts, because something in the way he spoke about Kimber, and the pain in his gaze, made her think it hadn’t been Zach’s choice to end his marriage.
Was it possible he wasn’t over his ex-wife?
The notion stung, took the spark off her day as it reminded her that Zach may kiss like a dream, but she was closer to winning an Oscar than she was to getting him to settle down with her.
When Zach’s hands moved between them to find the belt keeping her robe secured around her, she pulled out of the kiss, forced a smile and a light note to her tone that belied her inner turmoil. “Zachary Canady, get your butt in the shower and come to church with me.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He stole one last kiss. “But when we get back, I will have my lazy Sunday in bed with you.”
~*~
HE’D GOTTEN his lazy Sunday with Maddie. In fact, he’d hauled her off to his bed the moment they’d returned from church—a place he hadn’t been since university days when Maddie would occasionally drag him along because she was trying to save his soul from going ‘straight to hell’.
The memory tugged a smile from him.
He stood in the doorway of his sitting room and watched her move around, picking up and putting down objects, almost as if she was looking for something specific.
She wore a halter neck sundress that was slinky and far too long. The apricot colour complimented her skin. Her honey-toned hair, swept up into a messy twist, left her elegant neck exposed. The knotted material hanging down her back tempted him to pull it loose. She had a beautiful back, smooth, lightly tanned, and ballerina elegant. She loved it when he kissed that part of her anatomy, and he’d spent long minutes kissing every inch of it this afternoon. For a man who’d put his utmost effort into denying his attraction for Maddie, Zach now found it impossible to keep his hands off her.
Then when they’d managed to pull themselves out of bed, Maddie had insisted on grilling dinner on his outdoor grill and they’d eaten under the willow tree in his garden. Then made out on his newly cut grass until a sudden downpour had hit them like a bucket of water over a couple of randy teenagers.
Now Maddie was nosing around his sitting room and all he wanted to do was continue what they’d started under his tree.
She glanced at him, smiled when she caught him staring. He returned the smile, alerted to the startling fact that he could get used to her smiling at him. Zach’s heart jolted uncomfortably—when had that happened?
He crossed the room, slid his arms around her from behind, and pulled her back against him.
“What do you say to an early night and sleep deprivation?” He lightly grazed the side of her neck with his teeth as he kissed the scented flesh, enjoying her responsive shudder and the rush of lust to his loins. “Or”—He nuzzled her ear—“And I’m rooting for this idea ... we fire up that big ol’ hot tub of yours and let me realize a sexy little fantasy I’ve been having which features you, me, and a tub of warm bubbling water.”
She gave a light chuckle, slipped out of his embrace, and walked a few paces from him. “I’ve noticed you don’t have any family photos on display.”
His gaze flicked around the designer-decorated room. The walls were a creamy white and his furniture black leather. The room was masculine, uncluttered, and suited him fine.
“I’m not big on photos.”
He clasped his hands behind his back, met her eyes over the vase she picked up and saw the undisguised thirst for knowledge.
“Can I ask you something?”
Why did women have such a god-awful need to pry?
They’d been seeing each other for a week, and he had to admit he liked it better when they were too caught up with sex to spend any of their time together talking.
“Depends.”
Maddie replaced the oriental hard bone china vase on its pedestal and clasped her hands in front of her. “Why did you get divorced?”
She’d taken her time in broaching the subject, but Maddie’s casual question hadn’t fooled him.
“Does it matter why I divorced Kimberley?”
“So you divorced her?”
“It was a mutual decision.”
She nodded, her attention turning back to the expensive Japanese vase. “I see.”
Suspicious of her thoughtful expression, he surrendered to the desire to know what was going on in that mind of hers.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.” She shrugged. “I understand now. You had an amicable divorce.”
A wry chuckle escaped him. “I wouldn’t really say it was amicable.”
Her interest swung from the antique back to him with a swiftness that betrayed her pretend fascination with the object.
“Oh.”
The tension in his muscles increased. He folded his arms across his chest, knew his brows drew tight in a scowl. This was not his favourite subject.
“Why is my divorce so important, Maddie? I’ve been out of Kimber’s life for over four years. It isn’t as though I’m still married, and you and I are carrying on some sleazy affair. So do me a favour and forget about her, give us freedom to find out what we have.”
“What do we have, Zach?”
“I don’t know.” Needing to move, he retraced his steps to the doorway. “It’s only been a week.”
At his words or perhaps it was the harsh note of exasperation on which he’d delivered them, heat flushed Maddie’s cheeks. She turned away.
“I think you should know I don’t do casual relationships very well. I need to know if you plan to invest in this”—she glanced at him—“what is it? A fling we have going on? Or am I nothing more than your rebound girl?” Her gaze slid away then back again. “Someone to pass time with until you move on.”
Zach breathed deeply. He really didn’t want to have this conversation. “Maddie, we have sex. You yourself said this was a casual thing. What’s changed?”
She flinched, looked down, but not before he glimpsed the look of regret that flittered across her face. “I guess nothing has.”
“Don’t tie your emotions to me; I can’t give you more than a good time for a short while. Trust me on that point. I’m not the kind of man you need. I can’t give you what you’re looking for.” He let his tone convey a warning not to pursue the issue.
“How do you know that?” Maddie wasn’t heeding the alert. “How do you even know what I’m looking for? Or what sort of man I need?” The vulnerability and hurt he read in her eyes twisted a double-edged sword of guilt in his gut.
“I know you, Maddie, and you haven’t changed as much as you like to think. Sooner or later you’ll want commitment and I don’t do forever afters.”
Her lips, still swollen from his countless kisses, curled into a cynical smile. “You forget I know you too, Zach. You say you don’t do commitment, yet you married Kimber and stayed with her even when you found out she was pregnant with another man’s baby. If that isn’t love and commitment, I don’t know what is.”
He dragged his hand over his face, knowing Maddie wasn’t going to let up until she got what she was after.
“I didn’t love Kimber.”
She stared at him. Clearly, she hadn’t expected him to say that. “But you married her.”
“Because she was pregnant and I thought the baby was mine.”
“You stayed married to her even after you discovered the truth.”
“I stayed out of guilt and a misplaced desire to make it work.”
“Why would you put yourself through that if you didn’t love her?”
He puffed out a defeated breath. If Maddie wanted to know so badly, he’d tell her and then maybe she’d understand and simply accept what he was able to offer. It wasn’t much but, God help him, he wanted her to take it.
“Because my father was a hateful bully, who forced my mother to run away in the middle of the night with only the clothes on her back to try and get away from him.” His gaze clashed with hers. “You’ve met Hector. You know what a cold, mean SOB he was. I tried to make it work with Kimberley because I don’t want to be anything like him.”
Maddie crossed the room and stood in front of him. “You are nothing like Hector, Zach.” Her cool palm cupped the side of his face. “Did you ever hit Kimber?”
The question was a punch to the gut, and he jerked back as if she’d landed a physical blow.
“No.”
She tipped her head and raised her shoulder in a that’s-all-there-is-to-it gesture. “That alone should show you you’re nothing like your father.”
He pulled her into his arms, sealed his mouth to hers in a searing kiss that spoke only of need. When he released Maddie, her cheeks were flushed, her eyes shiny with desire and—he hated to see—compassion. Despite everything he’d told her, she still had a romantic view of the path their relationship would take and he’d bet right then, she was plotting a way to fix him.
Unfortunately, she was about to find out he was unfixable. “Kimber cheated in an effort to make me jealous, to get a reaction out of me.” Maddie waited, that damn sympathy riling him. “I felt nothing. We got divorced because I couldn’t make myself love Kimber.” He knew he had to be candid with her. “Don’t pin your hopes on me, Maddison, I’m incapable of loving anyone ... including you.”
She gave him an understanding smile. “Thanks for the warning, but you needn’t worry. I’m only interested in your body. Love has nothing to do with it.”