“You should give Levi more credit. He’s more careful than you think.”
“Look at him.” Their eyes traveled to Levi. He was leaning over the counter, grinning at the waitress behind it. She was laughing, her cheeks pink, her eyes filled with that look women always gave him. Out of the three of them, Levi was the one women fell for. “I think he screws everything that moves.”
Zanna shook her head. “He’s just a flirt. I think he might be the kind of rare man who loves a woman completely.”
“Completely? What does that mean?”
“From the bottom of her feet to the top of her head no matter what, and he won’t stop until she knows it. You see that waitress. She knows in the back of her mind that she’s over forty and has three kids and a husband at home. She knows that she’ll never have a shot with him, but she’s enjoying him anyway. And he’s enjoying himself because he likes to make people feel good, but he’s not serious. He doesn’t want to sleep with her. I’m sure he gets around, but I think he’s saving up all his real loving. Because one day he’ll meet a woman who is worthy of his love and he’ll throw everything at her, and the whole world will look at her and just know that she is completely loved by him.”
Colt couldn’t take his eyes off Zanna as she spoke about his brother. Loving someone completely, loving someone the way Zanna described. Out of the three of them, Levi seemed to have the best shot at it. Duke had always been so hard. So angry. Colt knew that Duke had loved Grace once upon a time, but prison changed him. Betrayal fucked up any shot he had at being anything other than he was right now. And as for Colt … he’d learned early on not to get too close, not to trust. When an entire town turned its back on your family, feeling like that came with the territory.
“Have you ever been loved like that?” he asked her, purely out of curiosity.
“I’m sitting here with you drinking the world’s shittiest coffee. What do you think?”
It was a shame, he thought. Zanna with all her fiery appeal seemed as if she loved hard, loved with passion, loved with everything she had. It might be fun to be loved completely by a woman like that. “What makes you think you know so much about Levi and how he will love?”
“I’ve been through some stuff. I’ve learned how to figure people out.”
“Oh, have you?”
“Not all people. Some I figure out too late. And then there is you, whom I can’t seem to figure out at all. Why did you help the Phillips boy?”
“Because everybody treated him like shit. He wasn’t a bad person. There’s this stigma around people with mental illness—that they’re dangerous psychopaths who’ll hurt you. And he was far from it. I know what it’s like for people to shit all over you without even knowing you. Everybody needs a chance to be in a place where they are respected and so did Michael. So I helped him.”
Zanna was quiet for a long moment as if she was trying to process what he had said. “I respect Bertie. So do Annie and Peggy.”
“That’s different.”
“How so?”
“It’s business. She’d be better off somewhere else. She’s no longer an asset.”
“But she’s an asset to me. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
For a split second he wanted to relent. He wanted to give Zanna exactly what she wanted, but he couldn’t. Because that wasn’t him and it went against everything he was here to do. He was going to go back to Las Vegas, back to his big office, back to people following his every order without question. “I’m not discussing this anymore, Zanna.”
“But you didn’t—”
“I told you how she could keep her job. It’s in your hands now.”
“I was afraid of that.”
He couldn’t start giving in now, because it would be the first step in losing a piece of the man he had worked so hard to become.
*
Zanna checked her hair again just before she stepped out the door. Normally she liked to wear it loose, but today she had piled it on top of her head because she knew she was going to need it out of the way. They were going to be busy at The Head Shed. At least if everything went according to plan, they would.
“You’re heading out early.”
She turned around to see Colt standing just a few feet behind her. He wasn’t wearing his business casual clothing. There was no sign of a suit; instead he wore a black T-shirt with a King’s Customs logo, a pair of jeans, and black boots. The T-shirt was just tight enough so that she could see the hard lines of his body and the slight bulge of the biceps. He wasn’t clean-shaven, either; a hint of shadow lined his cheeks. Her mouth went dry looking at him. He looked damn good all buttoned up, but seeing him dressed as if he’d stepped right out of a biker bar made her throb between her legs even more than she usually did when she saw him.
“What’s with you? Why do you look like that?”
“I’m going to paint the back office. Now that I know you have everything accounted for on your computer, I threw all of that junk away.”
“Oh?” She was having a hard time concentrating. She couldn’t take her eyes off his Adam’s apple as he talked. “Yeah, all the stuff needed to go.”
“It could have been gone a lot sooner if you had told me you kept the books.”
“Well, I was mad at you.” She shook her head. “I’m still mad at you.”
“Is that why you’re leaving here so early this morning? Are you trying to avoid me? It’s just business, Zanna.”
“You’re right, Colt. It just is. I guess I’ll see you at the shop.”
She arrived at the salon an hour and a half later after making a few stops, one of them at the Restful Acres retirement village. A lot of their clients lived there. Once a month all the stylists would head there to give the residents a day of beauty. It had been Bertie’s idea, and even though she’d spent more time chatting with her friends than doing hair, it was a good one. The residents loved seeing her face when she walked through the door.
Zanna knew she was doing the right thing, even though a little bit of guilt was creeping up inside her. She had Lolly’s blessing. Hell, Lolly was the driving force behind this whole thing. She was doing it for the principle of the matter. For Bertie’s well-being. To teach Colt King a lesson. That this was her salon and she knew what she was doing.
Everything wasn’t so black-and-white with Colt. There were shades to him she wasn’t sure she would ever understand, but she was starting to see that underneath that cold businessman exterior was a really good guy.
“Good morning, ladies.” She was the last one in this morning, which was unusual, but she had warned them that they might be busy today and she was glad to see that everyone was there.
“Good morning!” Annie smiled brightly at her. “The new nail station came in this morning. I’ve been working on my designs at home. You know I used to do nails in Vegas before me and Buddy moved back here. I did showgirls’ nails. Some of them just wanted plain colors, but I had one who loved to go crazy. Hearts on Valentine’s Day. Palm trees when she was going to Hawaii. I did snowmen at Christmas. I got damn good at them, too. You think anybody here would let me try that on them?”
“You think anybody here would believe how you haven’t shut your trap since that thing arrived?” Bertie said, her knitting needles clicking away.
“I’m just excited. Colt told me that no one else in town is doing nails. He ran the numbers. He said I could bring home twenty-five percent more a month if I concentrate on manicures.”
“Did he?” Zanna couldn’t deny how happy Annie looked. “So you have pledged allegiance to the King.”
“He’s a bit intimidating is all. He’s not a bad boss to have. He wants us to do well. He said happy employees are more productive.”
“I’ve known him since he was a teenager,” Peggy said, “And he has grown into one hell of a good-looking man. If I wasn’t married to my honey, I’d be putting the moves on him myself.”
“He belongs to Zanna, you little strumpet,�
� Bertie huffed. “At least that’s the word around town. I know you all heard about what happened at the farmers market. You just have been too polite to say anything.”
“Is it true, Zanna?” Annie asked. “Did he really almost take Perry’s head off?”
She nodded. “He tried to.”
“And he did it because he was disrespectful to you?” Peggy asked.
Zanna nodded. “I don’t think he was much of a Perry fan to begin with.”
“Boy is a huge asshole,” Bertie added. “Enormous. Full of shit and full of himself since they made him fire chief. I thank the good Lord there hasn’t been a real fire since he got the job or the whole damn town probably would’ve burned to the ground.”
“You think so?” Annie asked. “He can’t be all that bad.”
“I do think so. I also think Zanna hasn’t slept with Colt, even though the whole town thinks so. Have you, girl?”
“Excuse me, ma’am, but I don’t think that’s any of your business.”
“See? She’d be more relaxed if she had. I’ve seen the way Colt looks at her. If he could throw her over his shoulder and take her on the desk back there, he would. Bet you the sex would be good, too. The kind that would make your toes curl.”
“Okay!” Zanna put her hands over her ears. “Enough of that.”
“Oh come on, Zanna. You’re the youngest, hottest one here. Next to myself of course,” Peggy said. “And you haven’t dished once about your sex life to us. Not one single thing. Lord knows we’ve told you enough. Even Bertie told us about her younger freaky days.”
“Well, unlike you tramps, I’m a goddamn lady. I’m going in back to check on the supplies, you holler when my clients come.” She walked away, tossing her bag on the counter in the storage room. She suddenly felt hot. Colt was nowhere near her and she felt hot. She knew Bertie’s words were true. She knew sex with Colt would be good. She knew it would curl her toes. But she also knew that if she slept with him, once wouldn’t be enough. She’d want more and more of him until she confused hot sex for love and would find herself in a shitload of trouble. Again.
There would be no falling in love with Colt King. She needed a nice normal guy with a normal job, who wanted all the same things she did. Stability. Family. A little place to call her own. Colt didn’t want any of that. Actually she didn’t know what the hell Colt wanted, because they never talked about it. All she knew about him was that he took care of his brothers, and that he missed his mother sometimes, and that he’d helped a man from his past for no other reason than kindness.
Well, damn.
She still wasn’t going to fall in love with him.
Especially when he was so hell-bent on changing the salon that she hoped would become hers. He might have been right about some things. He might have made Annie and Peggy happy, but he was a smug jerk who took over without even asking her input and for that he needed to pay.
She walked into the office to find that he was painting it light pink.
The same pink as the hair dryers in front. “Why did you pick this color? Was it on special at the hardware store? Buy one gallon get four free?”
He looked up at her. There was a smudge of pink paint on his face that she found damn sexy for some reason. “I overheard you say you would like to keep the pink dryers if you could, because they remind you of a 1950s beauty parlor. Duke knows a guy who can take the guts out of anything and make it run again. I’m having him come out to fix them so we don’t have to get rid of them completely. I thought you might like to continue the color in here.”
“Oh.” It was thoughtful of him. Actually it was sweet, but she didn’t want to give it to him. “This is Lolly’s office. You probably should have checked with her.”
“This is your office now, too. Lolly used it as a dump. You do the books. You get the desk. She won’t mind. I think she’s getting ready to retire.”
“Did she tell you that?” She hated that the hope in her voice was so evident, but it was there and not because she wanted Lolly to stay away; she wanted the chance to buy the place. It was the only place close to feeling like home. More than that, it would be something of her own. Something tangible she could show her mother and prove to her that she had made something of herself. No matter what her mother had done to her.
“She didn’t tell me that she was going to retire in so many words, but I know. It’s time.” He turned back to painting the wall. He was good at that, too. Painting in smooth, even strokes. Businessmen were supposed to be doughy and pale and not good with their hands, and here was Colt King putting that stereotype to shame. “A package came for you this morning. It’s on the desk.”
“A package for me? I didn’t order anything.” But there was a Styrofoam container on the desk with her name on it. Inside was a pink bakery box. A huge yellow cupcake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles sat there staring up at her. A little flag on it said HAPPY BIRTHDAY.
It was just like the ones she’d shared with her granddaddy. Just like them. Down to the flag.
“We never got the ice cream you promised us,” he said, his back to her, still painting the wall as if he hadn’t just rocked her world. “Maybe we can pick some up after work.”
She shut the office door, turning the lock so no one would come in. She went over to him, touching the hand that held the paintbrush.
“You’re crying.” He dropped the paintbrush and touched her face. “I thought you would like it.”
“How did you do this?”
He shrugged, looking unsure of himself for the first time since she had known him. “I made a phone call. The cupcake came this morning. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“You didn’t, you dummy. I think you had better kiss me right now.”
“Thank God,” he whispered as his lips drew closer to hers. “All I could think about was kissing you.” There was no slowness in his kiss, no patience. She had been prepared for slow and sweet, but Colt King wasn’t about to give that to her. This kiss was hungry. It was nearly wild, out of control, as if he had been caged this past week, holding in everything until this moment. It had been nearly a week since she’d last tasted his mouth. She told herself she wasn’t counting the days, but she was.
Every look, every touch they had shared since then reminded her that she missed him; she wanted more of him even though it was the last thing she needed in her life right now. His thick fingers moved to the button of her jeans; a second later they were open, his hands yanking them down. He gripped her behind, squeezing it, pushing her into him, into his hard cock.
“I tried, Zanna. I tried, but I can’t keep my hands off you.” He pushed her backward until she landed on the couch. He yanked her shirt up to her chin, exposing the black lace bra she wore. “You’re sexy,” he told her as he knelt before her. He slipped his hand into one of the cups of her bra, flicking his thumb over her hard nipple before he pulled out her breasts. He looked at her for a long moment. “I’ve wanted to do this to you since the day I met you.” He ran his tongue over her nipple, then sucked it into his mouth. Hard. It was slightly painful but she liked it. It excited her. “My dick gets hard every time you walk past me. Every time I smell you.”
His voice excited her. The low, deep rumble. She flooded. Never had she’d been so wet, so aroused in her life. “You drive me fucking crazy.” He switched to her other breast, running his tongue around over her nipple, sucking on her, making that throb between her legs unbearable.
“Tell me what you want to do to me,” she begged as she reached for him. “I want to hear it.”
“I just want to be inside you.” He took her mouth again as he unhooked her bra. His hands reached around, cupping her breasts. “I want to feel you tight and wet and squeezing around my dick. I want to make you come. I want to hear you moan. I want to make you happy.”
“Zanna?” There was a knock at the door and she froze. Not just because of the interruption, but because of the last thing he’d said to her.
He
wanted to make her happy.
It was probably just something he said in the heat of the moment, but it hit her square in the chest and made her want to cry again.
“Zanna, you in there?” It was Peggy’s voice.
“Yeah?” She pushed Colt away, yanking up pants that felt suffocating on her too-hot body.
“Y’all shouldn’t be in there with all those paint fumes.”
“I know.” She fastened her bra the best she could, not risking a glance at Colt before she opened the door a crack. “What’s up?”
“There’s about fifty people waiting outside. They say they are all here for the Bertie special.”
He came up behind her, yanking the door open more. His mouth was kiss-swollen, his eyes still held a little of that wild spark, and the heat he threw off almost made her knees buckle. “What do you mean, Bertie special?”
“Oh, you don’t know?” Peggy gave him a cheeky grin as she produced one of the bright-pink flyers Zanna had handed out.
Zanna snatched it from Peggy and shut the door in her face. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
She turned around to face Colt, feeling like shit. Feeling lower than shit.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“You’re going to be mad at me.”
“Why?”
She shut her eyes. “I’ll send them all away. I promise. I’ll tell them you’re not even here.”
“What did you do?” he growled at her.
“I printed up flyers offering up a Bertie special.”
“What exactly is that?”
“In my defense, you said that if Bertie didn’t bring in more clients, you would get rid of her. So I printed up these flyers.”
He snatched the paper out of her hand. “Are you fucking insane! You told people I would roller set their hair?”
“I was mad at you and I wanted to keep Bertie around and Lolly told me you were actually good at it, but I said the cost was fifty bucks and I seriously didn’t think there would be more than a few people out there.”
He grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the office and back into the salon. Peggy hadn’t been exaggerating. There were more than fifty people outside the salon. Levi and Duke had made it in. Duke brought Grace with him.
The Bad Boy CEO Page 12
