Zach and Sabrina: Round 1

by K. M. Hill

  Chapter 33

  Shit, shit, shit, shit. Thought Sabrina.

  She stood watching Eve hustle away and let out a deep sigh. Zach broke through her thoughts.

  “Sabrina.”

  Sabrina turned slowly and met his eyes. He saw the stress and strain in them. He wanted to pull her into an embrace and take the worry away but she would not want him to do that.

  “What was that?” asked Zach, wondering about the assault that just occurred in downtown Saratoga.

  “THAT was Eve Duncan. She was always so kind and considerate when I was with Troy. Treated me like family. She had every intention of me marrying Troy, as you could see. She’s just a force of nature.” Sabrina said looking after the woman as she tore down the street.

  “Looks like you are having dinner with the force tomorrow night.” Zach said testing her reaction.

  “No, no. I am not. I cannot. I am not.” Sabrina said adamantly.

  “Well, based on what she is thinking, you are.” Zach said with a chuckle.

  “Well, I’m not. I’ll just have to call her later.”

  Zach laughed again. “Good luck with that.”

  “Zach, I’m done shopping. Let’s go.” Sabrina said.

  “Sure.” He said casually.

  They made their way back to the car, got in and Zach pulled out of the parking lot and turned right at the top of the street.

  “Where are you going?” Sabrina asked.

  “Back to the house.”

  “No, we need to go to the market.” Sabrina said.

  “I didn’t think you were up to making dinner. You seem a little preoccupied.” Zach said.

  “Nope, I’m fine and I’m still planning on making dinner so please turn the car around,” she directed him.

  “Ok, Ms. Sabrina, whatever you wish,” saluting her with a foolish grin has he made a U-turn.

  She looked over at him and he smiled that drop dead gorgeous smile of his.

  She felt the butterflies in her stomach start to wake up. She smiled back at him.

  “What do you want me to make you for dinner Zach?” she asked, looking to take some of the heat out of their exchange.

  “I was thinking a six course meal starting with soup from scratch….” Zach mused.

  “Stop.”

  “What? I’m just menu planning.” Zach said trying to hid his smirk.

  “Well, you are off the committee. I’ll plan the menu. Is there anything you don’t eat?” she asked.

  “Nope, my mom…”

  “I know, raised you right. Ok, I’ll make us something delicious.” Sabrina promised.

  She looked over at him. She was stunning, he thought. He was glad she was still planning on making dinner. This situation she was in with her ex-finance and his family was strange. They didn’t seem to acknowledge the “ex” part. Did she really mean it? Maybe they knew her better. Maybe it was temporary.

  And what was up with Hawaii?

  Chapter 34

  They breezed through the market and were back at the house in no time.

  “I’m going to take a shower and will be down shortly to start dinner,” she explained.

  “Ok, I’m going to start the filter in the pool,” he slipped out the back door.

  Sabrina went upstairs, undressed and stepped into the shower. The water felt miraculous. She was shaken by her run-in with Eve. She hadn’t seen her since she and Troy broke up and didn’t expect her to react in that way. Damn, she needs to call her about dinner. What a terrible situation. She really loved being with them all and Troy was such a great guy.

  As she folded her hair into a thick braid that draped down her back, she thought through the status of things.

  The further away she got from Troy, the more she began to question her decision. Furthering her confusion was this new dynamic with Zach. What was going on there? He was totally different over the last week. Clearly there was tremendous passion between them. She could feel herself become wet every time he looked at her with those smoky eyes and that killer smile. She wanted to eat him. Literally.

  But he’s not one to get involved. Look at the trail of women in this life, Sabrina reasoned. Should she stay away? Should she enjoy it for a short time? Her life had gotten complicated.

  Sabrina made a hot dip with macadamia nuts for an appetizer and served it on the deck. Zach walked out with two glasses and a bottle of red wine to join her.

  She had a lacey white summer dress on with flip-flops and her braid that he had an immediate need to unbraid and see her hair fall over her shoulders. The sun was hitting the natural blond highlights in her strawberry blond hair making her look regal. She took his breath away. He knew she was different in every way than anyone he had ever experienced.

  “What do we have here?” Zach asked hungrily, and not for the dip.

  This is just a little something to nibble on while dinner cooks.” Sabrina said, unaware of the affect she was having on him.

  I would rather nibble on you, he thought.

  “What are we having?” asking while trying to stay casual.

  “Beef wellington, sweet potato casserole, Caesar salad and a spinach soufflé,” she said proudly.

  “You made all that in that short amount of time?” he asked in awe.

  “It sounds much more impressive than it is to make. Each one of those things comes together very quickly. And I really appreciate you taking care of my accommodations. I wanted to make you a nice dinner to thank you.” Sabrina said.

  She looked a bit embarrassed with her admission. It only further endeared her to him knowing what a hard charging force she was typically.

  Quietly, Zach said, “I had a fun day, Sabrina. Usually horse shows are such an intense grind and I’m always on the run. This is a nice pace for a change.”

  Zach smiled at her. She didn’t know what to say. She was disarmed by his charm and his quiet reflection. She was wondering what he was thinking.

  They sat and talked about the show, her job and his upcoming big events. She loved to hear him talk about the horses. He became so animated. She stepped into the house to pull dinner out of the oven and he helped her carry dishes to the deck.

  “This looks delicious. I’m going to have to arrange all the accommodations for you so I can get cooking like this on the road from now on!” Zach said with a smile.

  She just laughed at him.

  “Typical male, Zach. Managed through your mouth.” Sabrina quipped.

  “You have that right, Brine. As long is my mouth is happy with and on you, then all is good.” Zach said knowing his comment made her question his meaning.

  That jarred her. She wasn’t expecting a quick reference back to their heated exchanges. Her eyes flew up to his and he saw the desire there. It reflected back in her own eyes but she was also wary. Seeing Eve today unnerved her.

  Zach saw the warring emotions run across her face. He tested her a bit with that comment and like he thought, she didn’t know what to do with it.

  “Is there dessert?” Zach asked looking to ease into another subject to get back the lightness she held earlier.

  “I did not make dessert but if you recall, you bought ice cream at the store. “

  “That’s right. Thank goodness since you are being a slacker on the meal without finishing it with a fantastic dessert.”

  She went to chastise him but he just grinned.

  “Come on, let’s clean up and put a movie in. I am ready to stretch out and rest my big belly after that delicious meal. I’m too full to turn in.” Zach stood to clear the dishes.

  They cleaned up the kitchen and headed into the great room.

  “What do you like to watch?” Zach asked.

  “A comedy or drama would be good.” Sabrina responded.

  Zach flipped through the movie channels and stopped at one.

  “Have you seen this one yet?” He asked.

  “No, I’ve been wanting to see it. I only watch TV when I am flying internationally and
one of my indulgences is watching movies while I work on those flights. This one hasn’t been on any of the flights I have been on lately.”

  “Great, let’s watch this one but don’t cry on me during the mushy scenes,” he said in a mock serious tone.

  Chapter 35

  Sabrina felt… content. Relaxing on the couch with Zach watching a movie felt very decadent. Typically, she was always moving. When she wasn’t riding, she was working. She had thought about pulling out her laptop earlier but she just didn’t have the energy to do so. She had been traveling and working so much that she planned on taking a few days of down time this weekend. When she told her assistant, Lori just rolled her eyes knowing Sabrina never took “down time”.

  But here she was doing just that. The movie was good but it was hard to stay involved with the plot line with Zach sitting next to her. They had sunk into the overstuffed leather couch and she was in heaven. As the movie got going, however, she became increasingly aware of him next to her. Distracting her. He had gradually slumped down a bit and leaned in so that he was almost touching her.

  Out of the blue, Zach asked, “What’s going on in Hawaii?”

  He startled her and he knew it. He also knew she wasn’t really paying attention to the movie. Her exchange with Troy’s mom had been nagging him all night, especially the part about Hawaii.

  “What do you mean?” Sabrina asked cautiously.

  “When you were speaking with Eve Duncan, she mentioned you going to Hawaii. What’s that all about?” Zach continued.

  She forgot Eve said that. What WAS she going to do about Hawaii?

  “There’s a wedding I need to attend there next weekend.” Sabrina offered.

  “Who is getting married?” Zach asked.

  Should she call him on being nosy or was he just making conversation? Hard to tell.

  “My best friend Lacey is getting married.”

  “Oh, nice. Are you in the wedding?” he asked.

  “I’m the maid of honor,” she said simply.

  “Wow, how official,” he teased.

  The unasked question hung in the air. Screw it. I’m already down the rabbit hole. I should just finish, thought Zach.

  “So, why would Eve Duncan be talking about that wedding? Is she going?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she said simply.

  He waited. Nothing else came.

  “What brings her to the wedding?” Zach asked, thinking this was like playing 20 questions.

  Eve paused. This was going to make things even weirder.

  “The groom is a longtime childhood friend of the Duncans. He practically grew up in their house. Actually, he’s Troy’s best friend. We introduced the bride to the groom.”

  He was quiet as he looked at her.

  “Oh. So, you’ll see the infamous Troy next weekend it seems.” Zach said trying to come off light but not quite pulling it off.

  “Yes, so it seems.”

  Sabrina had been thinking about that all week. She couldn’t get out of the wedding because she was the maid of honor but wow, was it going to be something.

  “Is Troy in the wedding too?” Zach persisted.

  “Yes.”

  Zach laughed to himself. Ms. One-word-answers doesn’t really want to answer my questions he thought.

  “And what role will he play in the wedding?” he asked, pushing her.

  There was silence for a minute.

  “Sabrina?”

  “Oh, um. Troy? Oh, he’s the best man,” she said, trying to sound casual.

  Just as he thought… Zach knew it was coming but it still hit him like a sharp spear in his gut. He did not like the idea of her being with him in their official capacities in Hawaii of all places. But there’s nothing he could do about it.

  Sabrina stood up.

  “I’m going to go get a drink and I’ll get you some of that ice cream you bought,” she stated and walked out of the room.

  Damn. He did not like that. Trouble was, there was nothing he could say about it. And in reality, it shouldn’t bother him at all. But it did.

  Chapter 36

  In a few minutes she was back and handed him the bowl of ice cream.

  “What did I miss?” She asked about the movie.

  “What does it matter?” Zach retorted.

  “What?” she asked bewildered.

  “You weren’t even following the movie.” Zach said with a smile.

  “Yes I was!” she said indignantly.

  “Well then, tell me what happened right before you went to get your drink?” he asked.

  She searched her memory and she couldn’t recall.

  “The guy had just pulled up to the house and was there to take her out to dinner,” she said proudly.

  “Well, that did happen but about 20 minutes ago.” Zach said laughing.

  “Be quiet Zach,” she said and pouted a bit.

  She plopped herself down on the couch with a little snippy harrumph.

  “Oh, come on… I’m just playing with you. Here, have a bite of my ice cream as a peace offering.”

  “No,” she turned her head.

  “It’s really good. Try it.” Zach enticed her.

  He held out the spoon of ice cream for her.

  Oh, hell, she thought, and licked the ice cream. It really was good. So good in fact that she didn’t realize it was her moaning until she caught sight of Zach. She looked up to tell him that but stopped when she saw how his eyes had darkened.

  Seeing her lick the ice cream from the spoon put Zach in another hemisphere. It was so erotic. It was both a bad idea based on the growing bulge in his pants and the greatest idea he had all night. He scooped up another spoonful and held it out to feed it to her.

  She shook her head.

  “Sabrina, you clearly liked it. Have another bite.” Zach said quietly.

  Zach had moved a bit closer.

  Sabrina looked at him and leaned forward to take the ice cream from his hand.

  “Nope. I get to hold the spoon,” he said, leaving no room for debate.

  The heat between them was explosive. She had a stomach full of butterflies and her clit was throbbing like crazy. She caught sight of his enormous bulge and knew he was incredibly turned on. That only served to make her very wet.

  “C’mon Brine. It’s just ice cream. One more bit won’t hurt you.”

  Actually, she thought, one more bite just may hurt me.

  Fuck it, Sabrina thought.

  As she went to take the ice cream into her mouth, a little drop fell from the spoon onto her cheek.

  “Here, let me get that for you,” he said seemingly polite but with red-hot desire in his eyes.

  He was holding a napkin in his other hand with the bowl. One she had brought in with her when she brought the ice cream. He leaned in as if he was going to wipe it off and slowly licked it off instead.

  The quiet moan that escaped her lips encouraged him to continue. She continued to lick his way slowly down her neck. The next thing she knew, she felt a drop of cold on her lower neck.

  “Oh, here, you have another drop of ice cream there. Let me get that for you.”

  “Zach.” Sabrina said breathlessly.

  But he was already on it. Continuing to kiss is way up the underside of her neck until he was full on kissing her lips deeply.

  It was explosive. He made her feel like he wanted to fully possess her by that one kiss. She fell her center warm. She should stop him. She had no idea what they were doing. But she just didn’t have the strength or desire to stop him.

  “Oh!” escaped Sabrina’s lips.

  Another cold drop landed on her cleavage.

  “Oh, what a mess,” he said with a faux serious tone.

  His tongue snaked up the drop and followed his hand has he moved her shirt to the side and began sucking on her nipple.

  Her head was thrown back in ecstasy. He was magic with that tongue. She thought of nothing but the sensation of him sucking on her breast and closed her eye
s.

  For a split second, she felt his mouth leave her breast and the air hit her nipple. She was already missing the feeling when all of a sudden her nipple was plunged into the cold ice cream. She almost lifted off the couch but he was already on her. His warm mouth in contrast to her cold, ice cream covered nipple was like nothing she ever felt before.