by Zara Cox
No.
London could never be home again.
Maybe she would take a sabbatical. Stay with her grandmother in Edinburgh for a few months. The month-long vacation she’d planned for her honeymoon was still owed her, as was the vacation time she’d accrued working for the last year without a break.
She couldn’t go to her grandmother, though. Nana Mayfield may be old, but her sharp eyes and shrewd brain would detect her broken spirit within minutes, and the last thing she needed was to be interrogated by an expert. The need to unburden herself was far too tempting. But she couldn’t do that to Nana. Her grandmother would be devastated if she knew…
The knock on the door startled her.
Not expecting anyone, she didn’t plan on opening the door, especially wearing only a towel, but a look through the peephole made her jerk back. The face was distorted, but unmistakable.
Enzo? What the hell was he doing here?
She bit her lip, debated whether to ignore the knock, pretend she wasn't home--
“Forget it. I can hear you behind the door, baby. Open up.”
Sucking in a sustaining breath, she opened the door a crack, but left the safety chain in place. “Wh—what’re you doing here?”
His face was taut, his eyes gleaming. “You didn’t answer your cell, so I came to see you instead. Let me in.”
She realized she hadn’t switched it on after leaving the hospital. But why would he want to contact her? Had something else happened?
“Fiona? Is she—?”
He shrugged. “She’s okay as far as I know. But I didn’t come here to talk about her. Look, will you just open the door?”
“Why? What do you want? And how do you know where I live?”
He glanced down the hall and back at her. “There’s a lady down the hall listening to every word we’re saying. So unless you want to carry on this conversation on the door step…?”
Mrs. Broadbent was a nosy divorcee who made it her business to find out everything about everyone who lived on the block. Lexi hesitated, even though a part of her knew this was a perfect opportunity to carry through her decision to end things with Enzo. But somehow she’d thought, perhaps hoped, she’d have until Friday to do so. Maybe get one last fuck out of it first? a sardonic voice whispered.
“Dammit, will you let me in before I kick this goddamn door down?” he growled.
She unlatched the door and stepped back, then immediately regretted her decision when Enzo’s hot gaze raked over her near naked body. By the time his eyes reached her bare toes, they were both breathing hard.
“Right, I guess you not wanting to let me in makes sense now.” He slowly licked his lips and Lexi was pretty sure he didn't even realize he was doing it.
“It wasn't this...that wasn't why...”
His gaze travelled back up and molten heat pooled low in her belly. “Wasn't it? Because I'm pretty sure you know what it does to me to see you looking like that.”
“I...Enzo...” She took another step back, although every sense in her clamored to get closer to him. He followed, kicked the door shut and just stared at her.
A deep breath for fortitude turned into torture when his sandalwood-scented aftershave attacked her frail senses. Her hand tightened on the knot in her towel.
“The...uh...living room is through there.” She pointed in the vague direction and succeeded in distracting him.
But as he looked around her condo for the first time, she began to feel even more exposed than she'd felt when he was staring at her in nothing but the towel.
This was her private space, her sanctuary. Getting him out of her life would be hard enough without having the added memory of his presence here.
The need to have him out of here as fast as possible spiked through her. But she couldn’t throw him out wearing only a towel. “I—I need to get changed. I’ll be right back. Take a seat.”
His gaze slammed back to hers, his eyes almost burning holes through the flimsy towel. “Sure you don’t want to invite me into your bedroom, baby? I could help you, uh…change.” The husky temptation in his voice almost undid her.
Did she want to invite him into her bedroom?
With every single fiber of her being!
She took another step back and prayed for strength. “No, thanks. Actually, I’m glad you came. We need to talk.”
His eyes shot up from their survey of her legs. “We do? What about?”
“Wait here, I’ll be right back.”
She flew to her room, dropping her towel on the floor. At her dresser, she extracted a pair of black briefs from her drawer and was just about to slip them on when her door banged open.
“Sorry, baby, I got tired of waiting,” the low rumble of his voice was tinged with amusement since it'd barely been a minute.
Lexi jerked upright and dropped the briefs. Moss green eyes slid down her naked form, lust blazing all the way. At the juncture of her thighs, lust morphed into something else. “Who the hell did you shave yourself for?” he bellowed.
She swallowed at the volcanic fury in his eyes. He seemed to grow in proportion with his rage, filling her room as he charged toward her.
For you, you ass. “For myself.”
He closed in on her, seizing her arm in a painful hold. “Don’t lie to me! Did you fuck someone else in Vegas? Someone who didn’t want to see any hair on your perfect little mound?”
She tried to shove him away. “Piss off! I won’t be spoken to like that, Enzo.”
“Answer me!”
“No, I will not.”
He paled. “God, you did, didn’t you? It’s written all over your face.”
“And what if I did? Am I the only woman you’ve slept with since we met again?”
The unexpected question threw Enzo even as he reeled under the weight of fury, pain and gut-clawing jealousy. To admit he hadn’t slept with another woman since she came on the scene six months ago would be to confess a deep, deadly obsession even he refused to acknowledge. But he couldn’t answer in the negative. There was only one liar in this room, and it wasn’t him.
“Just tell me straight. For once in your life, tell the truth. Did you get naked for someone else in Vegas?”
Her tongue flicked over her lips. “No, I didn't. Not exactly.”
He jerked her closer, trying his damnedest to ignore what the softness of her warm body did to his. “What the hell does that mean? Either you did or you didn’t.”
“In that case, no, I didn’t.”
The relief he should’ve felt was absurdly absent. She was trying to fuck with his mind. He spiked one hand in her hair, exerting pressure to tilt her face up to his.
“I’ll ask one last time. Did another man see you naked on your trip?”
She remained silent, her eyes square on his. But her color rose.
Red, the color of guilt.
“Jesus. You did!” He wondered why he felt so hurt. How long had he known she had a loose relationship with the truth?
“No, I didn't. I swear, I didn’t have sex with anyone else.”
“Then what?”
“It was nothing; just a massage.”
“What kind of massage?”
“Oh, come on Enzo—!”
“What kind?”
“The usual kind.”
“When it comes to you, baby, we both know usual is a whole different ballgame.” His grip tightened. “Explain.”
“No, I won’t. You’re just going to have to tr—” She stopped herself from saying the word.
“Trust you? Trust you? I’m sure you won’t be offended if I laugh?” Although, right now laughing was the last thing he felt like doing. “Just tell me what this massage entailed.”
“Look, Enzo, it was a normal massage. But if you want the whole truth, the guy who gave the massage this time was the same one who gave a…different one the last time I was there.”
“You mean you fucked him? You fucked him in Vegas?” he bit out, a strange numbness spre
ading inside.
Her chin rose. “Yes, I did. Seven months ago,” she added in a low voice.
“Seven months? You mean before you and I…”
She nodded.
This time relief smashed through, flooding him with a heady emotion. Instinct said she told the truth, even though the clear steady gaze that held his meant nothing.
“Then why did you shave everything off?” She knew how much he loved her pubes. There was something insanely sexy and earthy about running his fingers through her her curls before cupping her.
“I—I wanted to try it another way...”
He frowned. “What way?”
She lifted a bare, smooth shoulder in a self-conscious shrug. “I’ve heard the feeling’s more…sensitive…down there if there’s no hair.” More hot color flowed up her face, and a reluctant smile tug at his lips.
“Really? That's interesting.” His eyes flicked to the bed – the nice double bed with the flower-motif coverlet. “Maybe we should test the theory?”
He saw the heat he felt reflected in her eyes, and his cock grew so hard, he saw stars. Anticipatory warmth flooded his mouth, but to his surprise, she shook her head and stepped away.
“Why the hell not?” he bit out, the very idea of having to leave here without fucking her making him want to smash his fist into something. “It’s not Friday, I know,” his voice sounded pitiful and pleading even to his own ears. “But I’m here, you’re here. You want to fuck me, and I sure as hell want you to. Seeing you today at the hospital... God, baby, I've missed you. I know you've missed me too. So what’s the problem?” When he tried to back her toward the bed, she pulled away.
“You were horrible to me at the hospital.”
He stopped and clawed a hand through his hair. “I know. And I'm sorry. Seeing you there was a shock. And Cara...well she's making some tough decisions right now and she needs me.” He started toward her again. “I don't want to talk about that now. Hell, I don't want to talk, period.”
“But I do.” She grabbed a robe, shrugged it on and she moved to the window. For several seconds, Lexi stood looking at the view of the ocean before facing him. “Besides, you still haven’t told me why you’re here. You turned up on my doorstep unannounced. Why?”
He hesitated, because telling her he’d wanted to see if she was all right would make him sound even more lame and needy than he had a few seconds ago.
He looked at her without answering. The shadows under her eyes were still visible and the air of fragile weariness surrounded her like a cloak. Just like last Friday, he experienced an unexpected and unwelcome tug of concern.
“Why, Enzo?”
He shrugged. “I was in the neighborhood and wanted to make sure we were still meeting on Friday. When you didn’t answer your phone, I thought I’d make a personal call. So, are we?”
She didn’t answer, but the strange, resolved look in her eyes sent a dull thud through his heart.
“You said you wanted to talk. What the hell is it? Spit it out,” he rasped forcefully when she remained silent.
A sensation close to dread crawled up his spine. If she thought she could tell him it was over, she had another think coming. If anyone was going to call off this thing between them, it would be him, not her. God, how desperate did he sound?
“What happened last Thursday can’t happen again,” she said in a sudden rush.
A red haze clouded his vision. She was dumping him.
“Like hell it can’t! You think you can just end this thing between us? Just like that?” He ignored the hurt in her eyes, desperate to exact as much hurt as she was bent on inflicting on him. “You think anyone else can give you what I can? Tell me, when was the last time anyone made you come like I did? Made you scream from your orgasm the way I do?”
“Enzo—”
“Shut up! Shut the hell up and listen. You want to call this off? Fine. But if you walk away from me, you better keep walking. There isn’t room in LA for both of us.”
“That’s ridiculous!”
The ice continued to freeze around his heart. “Those are the terms. We keep seeing each other or you leave LA.”
“That’s bollocks! You can’t force me to leave town.”
“You think not? Just try it and see. You forget, this is America. We’re a very litigious bunch. We love to sue the crap out of each other. One, maybe two letters of complaint to your boss, the threat of litigation, and you’ll be out on your ass so quick, you’ll leave skid marks.”
Her arms clamped around her waist, her eyes wide and haunted. “That’s blackmail! Why? Why are you doing this?”
He ignored the mingled pain and confusion in her voice. In three strides, she was within reach. He pulled her resistant body to his. “Because I’m not done with you. Not by a long shot. And deep down, I know you’re not done with me. You know how bad I’ve yearned for you since you’ve been away? How I’ve longed to feel your perfect mouth around my cock? You want to end this? You think you can walk away, not feel my cock inside you, hitting that sweet, sweet spot, ever again? Is that what you want, baby?” He breathed the words into her parted mouth and she made a jerky little sound in her throat.
He slid his hands over her ass, cupping the perfect, sexy mounds. She trembled, and her tongue darted out to lick her lower lip. His temperature kicked up a notch. Smoothing his hands up her back, he brought them round until he had the glorious weight of her breasts in his hands.
Letting loose a groan, he passed eager thumbs over her silk-covered rock hard nipples, fighting the urge to part her robe and suck on them. He couldn't. Not yet. Not until he made damn sure she wasn't about to kick him to the curb.
“Look me in the eye and tell me you can walk away from this.”
She refused to meet his gaze, her half-closed eyes riveted on his mouth. Desperate, he pressed home his advantage. “You can't, can you?”
Lexi sucked in a shaky breath, and knew she was lost. With his hands on her body and his thick cock pressed so dominantly against her belly, she knew she couldn’t--wasn’t ready to--walk away from him. When he flicked her nipples again, fresh heat oozed between her thighs in a rush of surrender.
“You can’t, can you?” he repeated again, triumph coating his voice and she sagged against him. But within that triumph, Lexi imagined she heard relief.
“No, I can’t,” she whispered, feeling that same relief echo through her.
His lips lifted in a smile before his head descended.
The kiss was hot. It blazed. It scorched. He plastered her against him and, like a starved soul given a feast, she opened herself up with all her senses. But just before she drowned in the sea of lust, a thought impinged.
She tore her mouth away, ignored his impatient growl and hungry lips, and stepped back.
“Before this goes any further, we need to clarify one thing.” She took a deep steadying breath. “Whoever you were in that bedroom last week, I don’t want any of it. You made me beg for you, Enzo. I don’t want that. Whatever happens between us will be by mutual agreement. If you’re angry, leave your anger at the door, or I’ll walk. And if I do decide to end this thing between us, I’d thank you not to threaten me the way you just did. You may be a powerful businessman, but you don’t own LA. I am my own woman. I come and go as I please. Are we clear?”
He rocked back on his heels, his fierce gaze on her face. When he didn’t answer immediately, her palms dampened with dread. What if he said no? Her mind screeched with the effect that answer would have on her. How long had it taken before her brave decision to break things off had crumbled to dust? One look, one touch was all it’d taken.
She was hooked on him, pure and simple, but she forced herself to be strong. Her control had been violently taken away from her a year ago.
Hanging on to it now was as vital to her as breathing.
Finally, he nodded. “I’m sorry I threatened you. That was stupid and out of line. But are you saying that deep down, you didn’t enjoy what happen
ed last Thursday? Relinquishing your power to me, letting me take control? Did that not turn you on, even more than usual?”
His question jerked her back to awareness. It knocked about in her brain, seeking accommodation. The urge to admit the truth and say yes, she’d enjoyed it, sat at the tip of her tongue. She yearned to tell him how it had made her feel, the freedom she’d enjoyed from giving herself up to him, letting him call the shots.
A very big part of her wanted that, wanted to give herself over to him.
But that would hand him the power, something she’d vowed never to do. She’d been reduced to utter helplessness once, stripped of every ounce of her power and self-respect. After picking herself up from that horrific time in her life, she’d sworn nothing would make her relinquish her power to another human being ever again.
She looked up into Enzo’s hot green eyes. “No.”
Surprise and disappointment flared in his eyes, and then it disappeared. Nodding once, he said, “Fine. We'll do things your way. But I have my own stipulations. From now on, no once-a-week meeting. We see each other whenever we feel the urge.”
Her pulse accelerated. “That’s not what we agreed to.”
“I’m changing the rules.” His hands caressed her shoulders and he stepped closer, enforcing his authority with a sly thrust of his erection against her belly. “Seven days is too long. When you leave I spend the next six days in goddamn limbo, counting the seconds until I see you again.”
Shock spiked through her. “You do?”
He laughed. “It's no use hiding it, sweetheart. I'm addicted to you. To your smell, your touch, the heaven I feel when I'm deep inside you. You've crawled under my skin. I can't think straight when you're not in my arms and I can't think straight when you are. Yeah, I'm a mess and sure as hell didn't know what I was thinking when I suggested a weekly meeting. That ends today.”
“But how will we see each other? You work nights at your clubs. I work during the day.” And then there was Cara, she added silently.
“I’ve hired a new manager, and my partner keeps an eye on things. Owning sixty percent of the business means I’m my own boss and can do pretty much what I want. And what I want right now is you.” He bent forward and took an earlobe between his teeth as he eased her robe off. She shuddered helplessly. “So, we are agreed?”
