He made a mental note to call his parents on Sunday at their retirement villa in Florida. A villa he’d bought for them, pushing past his father’s stubborn pride, which wouldn’t allow him to accept Zach’s offer of relocating them to their dream destination. But Zach had been firm. He wanted them to be able to enjoy their retirement years—they’d both worked so hard all their lives to create a stable and happy home for him. Even when his dad had been made redundant from his work at an electronics design and manufacturing firm, they’d scraped by to make ends meet, refusing to touch the money they’d set aside for Zach’s college education even though doing so would have lightened their load considerably. It was the least he could do to see them into comfortable and carefree years now.
Yeah, his dad would be proud of him, all right. But the man he’d most wanted to have by his side tonight wasn’t here, and that troubled him deeply. Judging by the slightly more somber tone to the evening, he wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Alex’s disappearance remained the hot topic of conversation.
“Zach, now that the formalities are over, let me personally welcome you to the club.” Gil Addison, the club president, extended his hand.
Zach shook it warmly. “Thank you. I’m honored to be a member.”
“I see you’re here with Sophie Beldon. She’s Alex Santiago’s assistant, isn’t she?”
“And mine until he gets back,” Zach said, his eyes finding Sophie across the room.
She was dressed in a simple black dress in a wraparound style that had him eager to unwrap her the minute he had her to himself. Before picking her up this evening, he’d called and left a message to suggest she bring an overnight bag and stay at his place. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d been hoping she’d agree until he’d arrived at her apartment and seen the bag just inside the front door.
“You still think he’s coming back?”
“I sure hope so.”
“I take it you haven’t heard any more?”
Zach shook his head. “Nothing.”
Gil nodded. “It’s a puzzle all right. I understand Nate Battle has been coordinating with a state investigator out of Dallas. I imagine she’ll be in touch with you at some stage, too. Since you two worked together.”
“Glad to hear the sheriff is making the most of all resources.”
“Yeah. The investigator, Bailey Collins, seems to believe that Alex Santiago may not even be his real name. Kinda makes you wonder who he really is.”
“And where,” Zach added, shocked to hear that his friend might not be who he said he was.
Given the nature of their business and the massive volumes of money they handled on behalf of their clients, the news set alarm bells ringing in Zach’s head. He knew the police had frozen Alex’s personal accounts and the business accounts were running as normal at the moment, but he made a mental note to change the passwords again just to be certain. While they changed their passwords regularly, they were done in a system that Alex was familiar with. If he turned out to be some kind of criminal, they ran the risk of losing everything, especially with the Manson project about to go live in another week with a massive cash injection from investors.
“Let me know if you hear anything else,” Gil asked before excusing himself as someone gestured to him from the other side of the room.
Sophie cut through the crowd to his side and Zach pushed aside his concerns about Alex to mull over later on.
“Enjoying yourself? It’s quite a turnout for the new member welcome ceremony, isn’t it?”
The night almost read like a who’s who of Royal. Longtime TCC member Beau Hacket sat at a table with a bunch of his cronies—many of whom, he’d heard, had objected vociferously to Abigail Price’s run for the club presidency a couple of years ago. Beau’s wife, Barbara, mingled with a group of older women who’d circled around her daughter, Lila, and another TCC member, Sam Gordon. And those were just a few of the faces he knew or recognized.
“Sure is,” Zach agreed. “Do you want to stay for the dancing?”
“Is that what you want to do?” she asked, looking up at him with those sinfully sexy whiskey-colored eyes.
Her eye makeup was a burnished gold, emphasizing the width and beauty of her gaze and Zach met the unspoken question in her eyes with an answering twist deep in his groin.
“Not by any stretch of the imagination, unless—” he bent to speak privately in the shell of her ear “—you and I are dancing naked.”
He felt her shiver in response. “Then, in the interests of not scandalizing the company we’re in, I’d say we should make our apologies and go, wouldn’t you?”
Zach couldn’t have agreed more. He reached for her hand and they began to make their way out of the room, stopping here and there to shake a hand or exchange a brief farewell. He’d brought the Cadillac coupe tonight and after the valet pulled the car to the entrance of the club for him, he ushered Sophie into her seat, getting an eyeful of her décolletage at the same time. She wasn’t wearing a bra.
His mouth went dry, his fingers spasmed into a tight grip on the edge of the car door. In an instant he’d gone from semiaroused to rock hard, his pulse throbbing with all the pent-up longing of a flamenco guitar. He couldn’t wait to find out what other surprises she had for him under that dress. He forced himself to let go of the door and close it before walking around the car and easing himself into the driver’s seat.
Sophie, oblivious to his discomfort, flung him a smile in the darkened interior as he crawled past the cars lining the driveway and out onto the road. He completed the journey back to his place in record time—prepared to risk a speeding violation to get her home before the top of his head exploded, not to mention other parts of his body.
Not bothering to garage the coupe, he climbed from the car and grabbed Sophie’s overnight bag from the trunk. She was waiting on the front step as he slammed it closed. He pressed his finger on the biometric scanner to allow him access to the house and to disable the alarm and forced himself to draw in a deep breath. They had all night and all day tomorrow. He could take his time, he could savor every second with Sophie rather than rush at her like the randy teenager who suddenly seemed to have control of his mind. And his body.
“It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it?” Sophie said, inhaling the night air redolent with the scent of the standard roses that lined the turning bay of the driveway.
He stopped a second and looked at her. Really looked. She all but glowed, the exterior lighting making her blond hair a shining cap of palest spun gold.
“You know what’s beautiful,” he responded, coming up the steps to stand beside her, “you.”
He bent his head and kissed her, long and deep and wet, until he felt her tremble beneath him. It took all of his control not to drop her bag and sweep her off her feet and carry her to the nearest soft horizontal surface, but somehow he managed it.
“Come on inside. Would you like a drink before we go to bed?”
Surprise flitted across her face ever so briefly and he contained an inner smile. It was good to know she was as eager as he was to make it up to the master suite, but a little more anticipation never hurt anybody, even though certain parts of his body were making their objections to that statement well known right now.
“Sure, that’d be nice.”
“Let’s go outside,” he suggested. “There’s a wet bar in the loggia by the pool.”
He placed her bag near the bottom of the staircase and took her by the hand again, leading her through the house and out to the pool terrace.
“Oh, my goodness!” Sophie exclaimed. “I never realized you had all this here behind the house.”
He smiled. “The last time you were here we didn’t exactly make time for the full tour, did we?”
A flush spread over her cheeks in response. “No, we didn’t. Seriously, though, Zach. All this for one person?”
“It’s an investment,” he said as they crossed the terrace to the loggia and he gestured
for her to sit down in one of the deep, cushioned wicker chairs facing the massive stone fireplace he’d commissioned for when the weather began to cool.
“Some investment,” she muttered. “What’s that way?”
Zach followed where her finger pointed down a colonnaded walkway. “My fitness center and spa, and beyond that there’s a private putting green for when I’m entertaining clients. What would you like to drink? Champagne or something stronger?”
“Oh, champagne, please. You’ve entertained clients here?”
“I’ve had a few visitors stay in the guest house.”
He popped the cork of the bottle he’d withdrawn from the wine fridge under the bar and poured two glasses. Sophie had risen from her seat and drifted over closer to the pool and even now was bending down to trail her fingers in the clear water.
“It feels like silk,” she said, straightening and accepting the glass from him as he drew closer.
“Did you feel like a swim?”
“I didn’t bring a suit.”
“There are plenty in the changing rooms, but, with no neighbors for at least a couple of acres and no staff on duty except you and me,” he said, clinking his glass to hers and taking a sip of the foaming golden liquid, “suits are entirely optional.”
*
Sophie looked at him for a moment and allowed the sip of champagne she’d taken to trickle past the restriction of her throat. The idea of swimming naked with Zach all but made her throat close up in anticipation. The night air was still warm, the water of the pool just right. Beneath her dress she felt her nipples harden, her insides clench on a rolling pull that started deep inside her body and radiated out to her extremities.
She’d never done anything so risqué or erotic before in her life, never wanted to. But she couldn’t think of anything she’d rather do right here, right now with the gorgeous man standing in this unbelievable setting with her.
“Well,” she said, stepping out of his hold and placing her champagne flute carefully on a nearby patio table, “since suits are optional…”
She saw his fingers clench on the slender stem of his glass as her hands went to the knot at the side of her dress. Very slowly, she worked the fabric loose and unwrapped the gown from her body. She’d prevaricated over what to wear beneath it all day, but the lady in the shop had suggested she go braless—something she couldn’t remember doing in polite company since she was about twelve years old.
At home she’d realized she really didn’t have any other choice. The undergarment would have spoiled the visual line of the front of the dress and the way it was bound around her it provided sufficient support for her breasts. Her skin tingled on exposure to the night air that gently moved around them, laden with herbaceous scents from the manicured gardens that surrounded them.
Sophie’s eyes flew to Zach’s face. He was staring straight at her, his jaw clenched, his eyes shimmering. She let go of the ties and wriggled her shoulders, feeling the silk of her dress slide down her back to fall behind her, leaving her exposed in only her black lace panties, sheer black thigh-high stockings and her patent high-heeled pumps.
One by one, she stepped out of her shoes then, resting first one foot and then the other on a nearby lounger, she slowly rolled down her stockings. She flicked a glance at Zach. He hadn’t moved so much as an inch and she could see the cords of his neck standing out prominently as he clearly battled to keep himself under control. A bulge behind the fabric of his trousers left her no doubt just how strained that control was right now.
With a private smile she hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her panties and slowly slid them off her hips. A strangled sound escaped his throat as she turned away from him and leaned over the table to pick up her wine, taking another sip before replacing the glass once more. As she stood, Sophie ran her tongue around her lips.
“Mmm, I really like that,” she said and sauntered toward the edge of the pool before flinging another glance his way once she was poised at the edge. “So, are you joining me?”
Without waiting for a response, she executed a perfect dive into the silky water, relishing the sensation of it over her naked body. She’d barely made it to the end of the pool before a splash alerted her she had company. A rumpled pile of clothing lay where Zach had previously stood, and a dark shadow now approached her beneath the water.
Sophie put her feet down, relieved to discover she could touch the base of the pool, and waited for him to break the surface. She didn’t have to wait long. Zach’s arms caught around her middle and dragged her to him, his mouth closing on hers in a hungry caress that left her in no doubt that her little striptease had driven him to the edge.
She lifted her feet and clasped her legs around his hips, his erection trapped between their bodies.
“Do you feel what you do to me?” he growled against her mouth.
He lifted her slightly so her breasts were free of the water and buried his face against them. She shuddered at the feel of his lips, his tongue delving into the valley created when she’d clasped her arms around his shoulders. She tilted her head back a little, thrusting her chest out, her breasts aching for more.
Zach’s hands loosened their grasp at her waist and slid up the ridges of her rib cage, slowly rising up her body to cup her tender globes. The ache inside her intensified as his mouth, so hot compared to the lukewarm water of the pool, closed around one tightly beaded nipple. His tongue swirled the sensitive tip, his lips suckling, his teeth gently rasping until she squirmed against him.
She felt the heavy ridge of his desire against her entrance and tilted her hips to stroke his length with her body. She craved him with a force she had never felt before, her entire being attuned to him, his breath on her skin, his heat against her body, his hardness against that part of her that was soft and willing and compliant—begging for his possession.
He completed his worship of her breasts, his hands dropping down now to cup her buttocks, to lift her ever so slightly higher so his erection sprang free, no longer trapped between them. Sophie clung to Zach’s shoulders as he positioned her over him, as he slowly began to lower her down. She felt the blunt tip of him probing her body and she gasped her pleasure as he slowly filled her. He waited, allowing her body to adjust around him or simply to rein in some control; she could feel his muscles straining as if he was holding back.
“Let go, Zach,” she whispered against his ear, and she flicked her tongue out to caress his earlobe before catching the neat nub of flesh between her teeth and biting gently. “Let go.”
His fingers tightened on her buttocks and she felt the muscles in his thighs bunch beneath her before he withdrew slightly then surged back again. Sophie loosened her grip on his shoulders and caught his face in her hands, sealing his lips with hers and putting all her desire, all her hopes, all her dreams into her kiss. Her tongue caught and dueled with his and she suckled against it, drawing it gently into her mouth before letting him go and doing it all again. Zach moved again, this time settling deeper than before. She felt as if he knocked at the door to her soul as the first ripples of pleasure began to radiate out from her core, as her thighs clenched tight about him as she broke off their kiss to drop her head back.
A sharp cry ripped from her throat as those ripples sharpened, deepened into something even more concentrated, more powerful than anything she’d experienced before—as her body began to shake and all but implode on the bliss that ripped her from reality and flung her into a sea of sensual gratification far richer than her dreams.
Zach’s mouth fastened on her where her neck flared to meet her shoulder, his teeth sinking ever so gently into her skin. All her nerves concentrated on that one spot, heightening her consciousness as he ground his lower body against her, as he drove her toward yet another peak. This time her climax was more gentle, more indulgent—and as she welcomed the rolling sense of completion that spread through her body once more, she felt Zach stiffen and tremble in her arms, his head now resting in the cro
ok of her neck, his breath coming in sharp gasps against her skin.
It was several minutes before she could move, before she even wanted to move, but eventually Sophie untangled her legs from their grip around his hips. Zach lifted her off his body before gathering her tightly to him.
“I can’t get enough of you,” he admitted softly in the night air.
“I feel the same way,” she answered, spreading her hands across his chest, feeling his heart hammering in his chest at a rate similar to her own.
Sophie’s feet found the floor of the pool and she was grateful for the buoyancy of the water and Zach’s steadying embrace, because she doubted she’d have been capable of standing on her own otherwise.
“Good, let’s go and rinse off and head inside.”
Zach guided her to the steps at the corner of the pool and together they ascended onto the patio. Sophie was surprised when she saw the outdoor shower, with multiple heads, set off to one side of the loggia and changing rooms. Although she wondered why she was surprised, since Zach had surrounded himself with the very best of everything.
Suddenly, despite her boldness these past few days, a small kernel of doubt invaded her mind. She knew she’d virtually thrown herself at him the other night in the office, but he’d chosen to take her out with him tonight. If a man like Zach only indulged in the best, what was he doing with her?
Ten
Zach felt Sophie’s withdrawal as if it was a physical thing. Up until now they’d been so in tune with one another, yet he could feel her pulling away—mentally, if not physically.
Determined to get to the bottom of it, he turned off the shower faucets and walked a short distance to the changing room to grab towels and robes. Sophie followed him and grabbed a towel off the stack and began to dry herself.
“Here,” he said, taking the towel from her, “let me.”
“It’s okay, I can—”
“I want to, Sophie.”
She submitted to his request and once he’d finished drying her and helped her into a fluffy white robe, he swiftly dried himself off. Then, collecting their champagne and glasses, he showed her back inside.
Something about the Boss... Page 8
