She was a couple of blocks away from home when something to her right caught her eyes. She glanced out the passenger’s side window and even in the dark she was able to spot a familiar looking dog, trotting down the sidewalk. Zanaa came to a complete stop at the next corner and waited for the dog to make it to the end of the street and took another good look.
Sure enough, he had the same navy blue collar around his neck.
That’s Scott dog. What in the world was Henric doing roaming the streets of Wilmington by himself? she wondered. And better yet, what was Scott doing letting his dog roam free without a leash? Zanaa’s lips twisted wryly. The answer was obvious. He was too busy entertaining to have noticed his dog was missing.
Quickly, she made a right turned and followed in the direction of the dog. Slowing down the car to a crawl, she rode alongside him and lowered her window. “Henric!” Zanaa cried, surprised she even remembered his name. The dog stopped and looked around to see who was calling his name.
“Henric…over here!” She honked her horn, trying to draw his “Henric…over here!” She honked her horn, trying to draw his attention. He finally turned in her direction and wagged his tail. Smiling, Zanaa put the car in park. “Henric, come here boy.”
She leaned over, opened the passenger’s side door and signaled for him to come to her. The dogs ears pointed upward then he trotted over to her car and without hesitation climbed in and took a seat on the passenger’s side. Before, he could change his mind, Zanaa reached over and shut the door. “Good boy,” she said as she stroked his fur. “What are you doing out in the cold all by yourself?” she asked like he was smart enough to answer.
Henric started licking the side of her face and she laughed. “Okay, enough of the tongue bath! I was planning to take one as soon as I get home.” She rubbed his head and Henric happily wagged his tail. “You like that, don’t you? You are such a good dog. Too bad your owner’s an idiot.”
She winked at Henric then put the car in drive, keeping one hand on him and the other on the wheel.
Two minutes later she pulled into her parking spot and turned off the engine. “Now what?” How in the world was she going to get him inside without him running off again? She noticed Scott’s white Escalade was missing from his parking spot. Go figure. He was probably out with one of his many female admirers. Zanaa felt a hint of jealousy that she quickly brushed off. If he spent less time scouting the city for women, he might have known his dog was missing.
“Wait right here.” She moved up the sidewalk and went inside looking for something to entice Henric into following her into her condo.
She was about to reach for a slice of ham when she spotted the T-bone steak she had left over from two nights ago. She removed it from the refrigerator, sliced the meat away from the bone then hurried out to the car. There was no telling what the dog might do if she left him in her Jaguar for too long.
“Look what I got.” She held up the bone for him to see then opened the car door. Just as she hoped, Henric followed her all the way into her place without hesitation. As soon as the door was shut, she walked into the kitchen and lowered the bone. Henric immediately found himself a comfortable spot on the floor.
a comfortable spot on the floor.
“That was easier than I thought,” she stated with a sigh of relief.
Zanaa moved into her bedroom and changed out of a navy blue suit jacket. She was so angry she could have screamed. How in the world could a man be so insensitive that he left his dog to roam the streets of Wilmington all by himself? Thank goodness Henric was snowball white, otherwise, she might not have spotted him.
She slipped into a favorite red flannel shirt she had owned for so long it was worn out at the elbows and missing two buttons. She smiled at the memories. She’d had the shirt since college and couldn’t image parting with it. It had always been a comfort to her when she was feeling down.
The cherry red fabric always brought color to her cheeks and brightened her mood.
Zanaa slipped out of her heels and had just slid her pantyhose down over her ankles when she heard movement outside. Still wearing her pleated skirt, she slipped her feet into pink house slippers and padded through the house to the front door all set to give Scott a piece of her mind.
When she swung it open, she groaned upon realizing the commotion was coming from her neighbor to the right.
“Sorry, Henric. I thought that was your daddy sneaking home.”
She moved into the kitchen, opened her cabinet drawer, and removed a Post It note. After finding a pen, she scribbled a quick message.
I have your dog.
She peeled the note from the stack then stepped back outside and posted it to the front of Scott’s door. As she stepped back into her condo, Zanaa took a deep breath. Knowing she was going to see Scott had her heart thundering furiously.
Chapter Four
Zanaa took a deep breath and refused to consider the reason why she decided to reapply her makeup and let her hair down. She had even heated up her flat iron and had just unplugged it from the wall when she heard the phone ring. Henric jumped up from the floor and rushed over to the phone.
“No, don’t answer that!” She yelled and tried to intercept the movement but was too late. Henric had already knocked the receiver from her nightstand and onto the floor. “Bad dog,” she scolded then closed her eyes and took a deep breath before bringing the phone to her ear. “Hello?”
“Where have you been young lady? I’ve been calling all over town looking for you.”
Zanaa hung her head at the sound of Brenda Reynolds’ regal voice. Her suspicions had been right. Her mother was calling.
“Hello, Mother.”
“Are you okay? You had me worried.”
“She had all of us worried.”
Her eyelids flew opened. “Barbara, is that you?” Zanaa knew that nasally sound anywhere.
“Yes, Mother insisted we call you on three-way.”
Great. Just great. Now they were going to try and double team her.
“I’m fine. Really. Just been busy,” she insisted.
It was so out of character for her mother to give a rude snort. “So we’ve heard.”
“Yes, we have indeed.” Barbara chimed in with childish nasal laughter.
“Well…is it true?” Mother demanded to know.
“Is what true?” Zanaa asked, stalling for time.
“Are you engaged?” Barbara blurted with overly enthusiasm.
“Are you engaged?” Barbara blurted with overly enthusiasm.
“Because if you are, that is absolutely the best news I’ve heard in weeks!”
Zanaa tried to think of something she could say that would buy her more time. “No…uh, yes…I mean…maybe,” she stammered.
“What kind of ridiculous answer is that?” Her mother gave an impatient sigh.
“What I mean is that…” Before she could come up with a plausible excuse, the doorbell rang. Barking, Henric raced down the hall toward the door.
Barbara gasped. “Is that a dog?”
“Yes, look….I’ve gotta go.” Zanaa hung up the phone before her mother had a chance to say anything else and breathed a sigh of relief. No point in getting excited, she thought. She had bought herself about five minutes to come up with an answer before the phone would start ringing again.
Zanaa moved into the living room where Henric stood at attention waiting for her to open the door. She swung it open and found Scott standing on the other side.
“Thank goodness!” he shouted and then without an invitation, he stepped inside, dropped down to one knee and gave Henric a big hug.
Zanaa took a deep breath. His cologne, a spicy masculine scent, surrounded her. “Where’d you go, you big slug?” Scott asked as he rubbed Henric playfully on the head then hugged him close again.
As Zanaa watched the two, she found her eyes becoming misty.
Anyone could see they were close. She forgot all about giving Scott a piece of her min
d. After witnessing the two of them together, it seemed so inappropriate.
“Thank you so much. Where did you find him?” Scott asked as he rose in one fluid motion.
Scott’s gaze snagged hers and all she could do was stare up into his penetrating eyes. Heat rushed through her and was doing wild things to her body. Zanaa shuddered and tried to break the spell by focusing on Henric. “I found him a couple of blocks away, heading toward the zoo.” As if he knew they were discussing him, Henric trotted back to the bone he had carried into the living room and got back to chewing on it.
had carried into the living room and got back to chewing on it.
“I was getting ready to take him for a walk, but just as I opened the front door, the phone rang,” Scott explained. “I looked away and Henric ran off after a black cat. I’ve been everywhere looking for him.”
“Luckily, I spotted him on my way home.”
Scott reached out and placed a hand to her shoulder. “Thank you so much. Henric and I have been together for almost four years. I don’t know what I would do without him.”
His hand was large and warm. Tingles spread down her arm and across her chest, making her nipples tighten beneath her shirt. It was impossible to fight off the sexual heat the man generated. Zanaa just wished her body wasn’t so aware of him. “He’s a good dog,” she said at last then stepped back away from his touch.
Scott glanced down briefly at the watch on his wrist. “Thanks again, Zanaa. I owe you one. Anything, name it, and it’s yours. Come on, Henric. Let’s go,” he said. The dog continued to chew on his bone, ignoring him. Scott whistled. “Come on, boy.” Still nothing.
Zanaa giggled. “I guess he likes being around me.”
“I can’t blame him.”
Even now as Scott was staring at her, Zanaa was fighting for control. She appreciated the compliment and the look that said, I like what I see, especially coming from a man as fine as him. She just wished the words hadn’t made such a powerful impact on the speed of her heart rate. Zanaa flushed as a totally inappropriate thought drifted through her mind about how great it would be to share his bed. She was certain Scott would guarantee hours of sexual pleasures. As good as Scott looked, it was almost tempting enough to consider. The seductive gleam in his eyes hinted at an unforgettable night, causing Zanaa to suck in a long, shaky breath.
The phone rang, breaking the spell. She rushed and retrieved the cordless just before Henric succeeded at knocking it off the hook again.
“Not this time, buddy,” she said with a laugh then glanced down at the caller ID and her lips curled downward. It was her mother again.
Scott chuckled. “Sorry, he loves to answer the phone.” Zanaa assumed Scott noticed the look of panic on her face because his mouth turned downward as he asked, “Is something wrong?”
turned downward as he asked, “Is something wrong?”
Zanaa shook her head and didn’t even bother to look over in his direction. “No, nothing’s wrong,” she said, distractedly.
“Then why aren’t you answering the phone?”
She forced a smile. “It’s just my family. I’ll call back later.”
Scott looked as if he didn’t believe her but must have decided it wasn’t any of his business. “Come on, Henric. Let’s go. I’ve got some beef snacks waiting for you.”
Henric knew what snacks meant because he hurried to the door.
Despite the drama in her life, Zanaa couldn’t resist a giggle. “Bye, Henric.
Come visit me any time,” she said and rubbed him behind the ears. The phone started ringing again and she blocked the sound from her mind.
“We better go so you can get that. Thanks again, Zanaa. I owe you one.”
She met his eyes. Big mistake. Her heart began to thunder against her chest. “I’m going to hold you to that,” she said and returned his smile.
“Wait! Let me get Henric’s bone. He can take it home with him.” She walked over and picked it up. Henric followed and she gladly handed him the slimy wet bone. He put it in his mouth and trotted back to the door where Scott was waiting just as the answering machine kicked on. As soon as Zanaa heard her mother’s voice, she raced back to the kitchen to turn down the volume but not before she overheard her mother’s demanding presence.
“Zanaa Diane Reynolds. This is your mother and you better call me tonight. Otherwise, tomorrow your sister and I are driving up there to find out what’s going on.”
Great, she groaned inwardly and couldn’t remember when she had ever been so embarrassed in her life. Her mind was reeling as she moved back into the living.
Scott stood at the door and hesitated for a moment, giving her a deep look of concern before he finally shook off whatever was on his mind and his smile returned. “Thanks again. Remember what I said. Anything you need it’s yours.”
“Anything, huh? How about pretending to be my fiancé long enough for me to get my family off my back?”
enough for me to get my family off my back?”
Scott looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Excuse me?”
Oh my goodness. Zanaa gasped. Did she really say that out loud?
He pushed the door shut then turned and faced her. “Did you just ask me to pretend to be your fiancé?”
She nodded nervously. Chances were he thought his next door neighbor had been recently released from the Looney-bin. “I guess I did,”
she murmured barely above a whisper as he closed in on her. “Just long enough to get through the holidays then I can tell my family we broke off the engagement.” Zanaa exhaled deeply and continued to stare up at him.
This was crazy. She couldn’t believe she was even suggesting such a thing, which made it two days in a row she had blurted out something only to later regret it. What was wrong with her?
Scott moved toward Zanaa then placed a hand to her hip with just enough pressure to send rivets ricocheting through her body. For a long intense moment, she stared up at him until a slow sensual smile curved his mouth as he said, “I would love to.”
Chapter Five
Zanaa couldn’t believe her ears. Had Scott actually agreed to the ridiculous idea? She took in a long, deep breath to calm her nerves. Only the expansion of air in her diaphragm increased the pressure of his hand.
Scott tightened his hold and eased her forward until her hips brushed his solid thighs. Tilting her head to the side, she was about to tell him to release her, but no words came out. Instead, she found her focus drawn to his delectable mouth. Unconsciously she parted her lips and sighed. Big mistake, because that was all the invitation Scott needed. Before she could even think about refusing, he brought his mouth down over hers.
Oh, goodness, could the man kiss, Zanaa thought as she leaned forward and tangled her tongue around his. The kiss was skillful, confident and utterly delicious. His lips were warm and intoxicating. She’d never enjoyed tasting a man as she did Scott Simmons. And that was the problem.
She could feel her pulse hammering at her temple, and her nipples hardened beneath her bra. A rush of desire settled into her belly and slid purposely toward the apex between her thighs. She squeezed her thighs together, trying her damndest to steady the emotion but her legs began to tremble. Then Scott drew her even closer to him, deepening the kiss and her arms of their own free will, rose and settled loosely around his neck.
Scott’s masculine growl of pleasure reverberated against her lips.
It was a sound that made her moan inwardly. She was enjoying the kiss far more than she wanted, yet it was everything she had expected from a man like Scott Simmons.
Although she wasn’t exactly sure how she got there, a moment later Scott was settled on her chocolate couch with Zanaa firmly on his lap.
He tunneled his fingers through her shoulder length hair as he kissed a path along her cheek. When he gently bit her right at the base of her neck, she cried out with pleasure. Scott was letting her know she was his for the she cried out with pleasure. Scott was letting her
know she was his for the duration. Knowing he had staked his claim caused a rush of heat to radiate through her body and settle down low. She wiggled nervously against him and felt his erection at her hip. Oddly, she ached to reach down and touch him there. Resisting the urge, she clasped her fingers at the base of his neck while Scott ran one of his large hands down along her spine, then settled it against her butt, drawing her even closer. The contact sent another burst of desire into her already sizzling blood.
Goodness, she wanted him. Making love to him couldn’t be anything short of amazing, she thought. The thought, while true, was also sobering.
She barely knew him and she was already on his lap, letting him give her a hickey. While Zanaa may have desperately solicited his help, she was far from being a tramp. Ashamed at her behavior, she placed a hand to his chest and pushed him away. “How did I end up on your lap?” she asked not trusting herself to look at him.
“Does it matter?”
Her stomach tensed with nervous awareness, making her feel stupid and dazed. “No, I guess it doesn’t,” she finally replied.
“As far as I’m concerned, all that matter is that we’re attracted to each other.” He drew her close again, her nipples brushing his chest. Eyes sparkling with humor, he dipped forward and kissed her.
This had to be a dream. A sweet wonderfully crazy dream, she thought. There was no way she had agreed to a staged engagement with this sexy creature. When he kissed her one final time and drew back, Zanaa slowly opened her eyes, expecting Scott to disappear in a puff of smoke.
Instead, she stared up into his gorgeous eyes and sensed he already knew how aroused he made her.
“Sorry,” she said awkwardly and rose. “I lost my head there for a moment. Thanks for offering to help me but this idea’s a big mistake.” She hurried to the half bath down the hall and splashed water on her face then stared at her reflection in the mirror. Pathetic. Was she that desperate to ask a stranger to pretend to be her fiancé? Okay, maybe he wasn’t a complete stranger but he was the last person she would have chosen as a fiancé.
In Her Neighbor's Bed (The Beaumont Series) Page 4
