HIGHER (The Indigo Lounge Series)

by Cox, Zara

  “What the hell do you call this? Barreling your way into my work life just to get what you want?”

  He slid another finger in, felt her stretch deliciously around him. Jesus, at this rate he would blow his load as shamelessly as he’d blown it the other night on her bedroom floor. He fought the tightening in his groin. No way was he losing control that quickly again.

  “I call it the extra edge. With perhaps a little manipulation thrown in. But no lies.”

  He watched her toss that in her mind for a few seconds. Then she shook her head, even as her thighs spread that little bit wider and her hips slowly undulated against his hand.

  “This isn’t okay, Zach. It’s nowhere near okay. This is my professional life you’re messing with.”

  “On the contrary, I’m seeking to enrich it. Besides, we discussed this, back in Paris, remember?”

  “What?” Gratifyingly lust-glazed blue eyes met his.

  “I said I’d find a way to make it work in the real world. This is me making it work.” He flexed his fingers and her pouty lips dropped open on a gasp.

  “If we discussed it then, why couldn’t you discuss it with me now?”

  “Because it’s partly business. Believe it or not, if Neon hadn’t been a good fit, this meeting wouldn’t have happened. Now the only thing that needs clarification is whether you feel you can work with it or if you want to refuse Neon the opportunity of a lifetime.”

  “Are you really saying that if I don’t come with the package this doesn’t happen?”

  He shrugged. “A little hardball to get what I want, Bethany. That’s all this is. Now if you don’t want those panties shredded, be a good girl and hold them to one side for me so I can see to your needs.”

  Alluring blue eyes met his and he watched her struggle to take a breath. “Zach…”

  “Do it, Bethany. You’re not leaving this room until I make you come. I can bend you over the sofa or we can do it this way. This way I can control your screams, but it’s totally your choice.”

  Her lips parted wider and a hot little breath burst through them. He licked her lower lip and felt another shaky sigh spill from between kiss-swollen lips.

  Her fingers grasped her hemline and slowly lifted the skirt up to her hips. He caught sight of her panties and his breath stopped.

  Indigo lace.

  “Jesus. You fucking know what this color on you does to me, Peaches.”

  “I didn’t even know I was coming here until an hour ago…”

  His hand left her breast to tug her chin upward. “But you were wearing it anyway. When you saw me it made you wet, didn’t it? Knowing you were wearing my color against your sweet cunt?” He hardened his tone, not prepared to accept anything less than total honesty.

  “Yes,” she sighed.

  He dropped his head until his forehead touched hers. Withdrawing his fingers, he plunged them deep, deeper until his middle finger grazed her sweet spot.

  Her hips jerked against his ruthless invasion. Liquid heat oozed between his fingers, sliding down into his palm. “Fuck, baby.” He could barely breathe. She was so hot, so fucking incredible.

  How could he ever let her go?

  They both watched, fascinated and breathless as he finger-fucked her. Dirty, decadent sounds of suction filled the room as he plunged in and out of her, pushed her to the brink of her endurance. She bit back a cry as her orgasm drew closer. More than anything he wanted to hear her scream her climax but he was mindful that there was an audience next door.

  “You like this, baby?” he growled down at her. “Watching what I do to you?”

  She didn’t look up, her attention totally engrossed in the precisely timed pull and thrust of his fingers.

  “Bethany?”

  She gave a jerky nod, her fingers tightening convulsively over her skirt.

  “I want to hear it,” he demanded harshly. He’d missed her vocal celebration of what he did to her; was as starved for it as he was starved for her body. “Tell me!”

  “Yes, I like it,” she whimpered. Her back arched and her thighs widened, giving him better access.

  He greedily took it. Catching her nape to steady her, he angled his fingers and executed a series of fast, hard thrusts that slammed her over the edge. He swallowed her throaty groan as she came. Hot liquid gushed into his palm and dripped between his fingers. Her body jerked against his as sensations buffeted her. He soothed her down with kisses until she quietened, then slowly withdrew his fingers.

  Her whimper of protest was joyful to his ears.

  She started to slide her panties into place and lower her skirt. Before the thought was fully formed in his mind, he’d hooked his fingers into the lace and ripped her panties off.

  “Zach!”

  He knew his grimace fell short of contrite. “Sorry.” He wiped her slickness from his hands and stuffed the soaked panties in his pocket. “I want nothing more than to taste you right now but if I start eating you now, you won’t get out of here anytime soon. This will have to serve as a peace offering.”

  Biting her lip, she straightened and pulled down her skirt. Her eyes met his and slid away. He caught a glimpse of the hurt and his insides shredded.

  God, he hated that look.

  “Can you show me where the bathroom is, please?” she asked in a low voice.

  He wanted to kiss her again, reassure her that things would get better but he knew she would see them as just words. After all, he’d been saying that for the better part of a week and half now.

  The only thing he could do now was to use the only weapon in his arsenal to keep her with him until the right time came to share his sordid past with her.

  Swallowing a growl of frustration, he took her hand and led her down the hall. He saw her glance around her for the first time, take in that décor around her. He wondered if she liked it.

  Wondered what she would think about the room he’d created especially for her.

  The toy room was much more extensive than the one he’d introduced her to in Morocco. He wanted to tell her about the room but he cautioned himself against it. They weren’t out of the woods yet. Far from it. She may have allowed him to make her come but that didn’t mean their issues were anywhere near resolved.

  On top of everything else, she was still hurt and confused by the stunt he’d pulled today. He had a long way to go before Bethany opened up herself again the way she had on that last night in Marrakech.

  But no way was he giving up.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Oh, God!” Bethany muttered again under her breath as the cool water gushed over her hands.

  The enormity of what she’d just done escalated in her mind until it was a huge, insurmountable obelisk. She dried her hands, smoothed one hand over her skirt and the other over her hair. But she couldn’t stop the shaking that raked through her insides every few seconds. The languorous post-climactic feeling made her semi-drowsy even as her heart hammered fast enough to scare the shit of her.

  “What the hell am I doing?” She’d tried her best to repair the damage in the bathroom but one look into her feverish eyes and flushed face told her she was rocking the I’ve-just-come-really-hard look. Which was why she was avoiding her reflection. Although she didn’t really need a second look.

  Her lipstick was chewed off and her jawline was slightly grazed from Zach’s stubble when he’d growled those heated demands in her ears.

  Demands she’d granted like some helpless, sex-starved chick…

  Oh, who was she kidding? She was helpless when it came to Zach. And his brand of sex always left her starving for more.

  Mortification rocked through her at how fast she’d lost her panties along with her willpower. “God,” she groaned again.

  A hard knock rattled the bathroom door. “Baby, are you okay?”

  They were far enough away from the meeting room on the other side of the apartment for them not to be overheard but her heart lurched at the husky endearment anyway.

&nbs
p; Springing for the door she opened it. “Can you not call me that with my bosses within earshot, please?” she whispered fiercely.

  Zach ignored her, his eyes raking her face and body with that insane intensity she was beginning to think would never abate. “What’s wrong?” he demanded.

  She closed her eyes and sucked in a will-sustaining breath. “Are you really this blind, or do you really not care about anything except what you want?”

  “We want the same thing so I fail to see where this conversation is going.”

  Lazily, he slid a strand of silky hair through his fingers. She tried to bat his hand away. He caught her fingers in his and started to bring them to his mouth.

  She snatched them away as mortification reddened her face. “God, my lipstick is in my bag. My bag is in the conference room. They’ll take a look at me and know what I’ve…what we’ve been doing?”

  Satisfaction oozed through the smile he sent down at her. “So?”

  “The fact that you ask me that just makes me want to throttle you.”

  “Peaches, it’s only a matter of time before the whole world knows I’m nuts about you. If I had my way, it would be sooner. Much sooner.”

  Her mouth dropped open in shock and a full body shudder raked her from head to toe before she could catch herself.

  No matter how much she told herself to get used to it, she would never get used to the way Zach spun her senses with his words.

  “What happened to protecting your privacy?” she blurted.

  “My privacy is no fucking use to me without you in my life,” he replied through gritted teeth.

  More words to render her speechless.

  “But if this bothers you that much, I can find a way to excuse your absence. You can leave after your bosses are gone. I’m sure I can come up with a satisfactory excuse.”

  “So now you care about my professional reputation?”

  Grey eyes locked on hers. “I care about your happiness.”

  “If you did, you wouldn’t have dragged me out of that meeting room in full sight of my bosses. And you sure as hell wouldn’t have manipulated me here in the first place.”

  Again that careless shrug. Only this time she knew just how much she’d underestimated him. And how so not careless that shrug really was. “I had to get through to you once and for all. I want you. I’ll do anything to have you.”

  He turned and started heading for the meeting room. With no choice but to follow or risk even more questions if he returned without her, she followed. “So what was Monday night all about? I thought we made progress.” She’d gone to bed believing they’d taken a small step forward; that they’d made progress during the ride home. Being proven wrong again made her wonder if she’d ever even come close to guessing how Zachary Savage ticked.

  “This was added insurance I put in place before our conversation on Monday night.”

  “Yeah, I kinda guessed that from earlier. But you still didn’t see the need to call it off?” she asked, unable to stop the tiny spurt of excitement from sprouting within her.

  Zach paused with a hand on the meeting room door. “You mentioned Sheena gave you a hard time after you failed to come up with the goods last year. I looked into Neon and I liked what I saw. I’m killing several birds with one stone.”

  She licked her lips. “So this is real? You want us to work on the IL project?” A tiny wave of excitement rushed through her, escalating before she could stem it.

  “As long as your ideas pass muster, the deal is yours,” he murmured. “But don’t think that just because the boss has a soft spot for you that you’ll be given an easy ride. I intend to ride you very hard. And often.” He winked shamelessly and threw the door open.

  She was still trying to catch her breath when she took her seat. In total she guessed they’d been gone less than twenty minutes but it felt like hours. When she looked up and encountered the speculative faces around the table, Bethany’s mortification grew. Heat continued to thrum through her pelvis, making her very much aware that she was without panties.

  “We all good?” Jeff asked as he looked from Zach to her.

  Zach sat back, a small smile playing on his lips. “Miss Green survived the grilling so I’m satisfied our working relationship will thrive.” He cast her a glance and she caught the possessive heat in his eyes. She glanced away quickly, her eyes dropping to his chest, only to nearly choke when she spotted her panties peeking from his jacket pocket where he’d stashed it.

  Grabbing the glass of water on the table, she tried to cover her flustering by taking a huge gulp.

  “Everything okay your end?” Zach batted the question across the table.

  She saw Sheena’s glance narrow further before she smiled at Zach. “Yes. I’ve passed a preliminary list to Jeff. Once we’ve whittled it down to the desired numbers, with your approval of course, we’ll get started on the actual event coordination.”

  “Good. Have Miss Green report to me tomorrow with her ideas for the first two destinations, and we’ll take it from there?” He stood, signaling an end to the meeting.

  Sheena picked up her sleek leather case and rose with Gary. She rounded the table, her eyes zeroing on Zach with a keen intent that made Bethany’s nape tingle with apprehension and acute irritation.

  “I was thinking, a tour of the actual plane would be beneficial. I believe that a hands on knowledge of the product would help us profile it more effectively.”

  Zach’s brow rose. “Really? You do realize that the only way to truly experience the Indigo Lounge is to take a trip and indulge in everything it has to offer? Are you saying that the best way you can stage this event is to participate, Miss Malcolm?”

  Sheena Malcolm, the renowned ball-breaker known for reducing her interns to tears within minutes of their first day, flushed a deep crimson.

  For a brief moment, Bethany actually felt sorry for her. Until she recalled the look in Sheena’s eyes as she’d looked at Zach.

  Her Zach.

  “Umm, no…what I meant, of course, was a private tour…of the plane…without the guests—”

  Gary cleared his throat loudly and Sheena subsided into silence.

  “Since the plane is already here, I can arrange a tour for tomorrow morning if that suits before I fly back to California?” Jeff offered into the awkward silence.

  “I would prefer it if Miss Green starts on the event planning straight away. But by all means, arrange a tour for any Neon staff you think need it. Would it be better for Miss Green to work from here?”

  Bethany shook her head immediately. “No, my office is adequate for liaising purposes. I don’t need to relocate here, Mr Savage. Thanks all the same.”

  Zach’s jaw tightened for a second but thankfully, he let the matter go.

  When his gaze flicked to hers, she caught the steely determination in his eyes. She raised her chin and flashed back the same warning.

  “If that’s all for now?” she pressed, eager to be away from his electric presence. She needed to think. To focus and regroup after what had happened in the last hour.

  Further plans were made for a tour of the IL plane. Goodbyes were said, and she made the appropriate responses. But all she could think of was Zach’s scent in her nostrils, his dark promises in her ears and the fact that she was now exposed to him in a way that saw no outlet from the emotions he wrought inside her.

  They were now linked professionally unless she could come up with a hell of an explanation as to why she would refuse to work on the IL event planning.

  She had no doubt that Zach would pull his offer from Neon should she in any way try to back out whether the company was a fit or not. Neon were small fry in the PR and event organizing world. He could have two dozen companies lining up to snap up the offer in a heartbeat.

  She entered the lift and held her breath when he followed. The rest of the group crowded in. With no choice but to squeeze up against him in the small space, she was once again bombarded by the charged sphere
surrounding him. His aftershave, spicy and alluring as hell, wove around her as the elevator whisked them downward. Jeff made small talk, which the others joined in. Zach remained silent, his nostrils slightly flared and his face set in that aloof mask she’d come to recognize as his resting expression when dealing with employees.

  But when the lift started to part on the ground floor, he turned his head toward her. Eyes, dark and stormy, clashed with hers.

  “Four o’clock tomorrow, Miss Green. I’ll send a car for you.”

  She gaped at him. “I didn’t think I’d need to attend another meeting, Z…Mr Savage. I can email you my ideas or we can video conference.”

  “I prefer a face to face meeting. Make yourself available, please.” His tone suffered no argument. With a curt nod to Sheena and Gary, he walked away with Jeff.

  Bethany watched, dumbfounded, as the two men got into the back of his town car. Philip shut the door behind them and slid behind the wheel. Within seconds, Zach was gone.

  Sheena’s expression was a cross between shock and affront as she walked on four-inch heels to the door. In the back of the cab, she exchanged glances with Gary, then glanced at Bethany.

  “I’ve heard Zach Savage was…eccentric but I had no idea he was downright rude.”

  Bethany attempted a shrug, her whole concentration centered on keeping her mouth shut against the urge to spring to Zach’s defense.

  Bottom line was that in the need to have his way he’d nearly blown their connection wide open.

  “And why on earth would he insist on having you as the front person on this project?”

  Bethany jerked back into focus at the clear insult in Sheena’s voice. “If you don’t think I’m up to the task, feel free to allocate it to somebody else.”

  Sheena’s mouth compressed. “We both know that’s not an option. So you have no idea why he’s adamant to have you on board?”

  The way Zach was going it was only a matter of time before the cat was out of the bag about their connection. But there was no reason for her to reveal anything just yet.

  The revelation that one of America’s richest, sexiest, most dynamic men was super keen to get back into her pants would be huge enough when the time came. She hadn’t given it much thought at the time when Zach had mentioned it in Paris, but now she knew without a shadow of a doubt that any revelation would be overwhelming.