Billionaire Undaunted: The Billionaire's Obsession ~ Zane (13 page)

He bolted into a sitting position, taking her with him. She ended up sprawled over his legs, and struggled into a sitting position right in front of him. He grasped her bare shoulders tightly, his expression troubled. “I do need something, sweetheart,” he remarked darkly. “I need
you
. I need both of us to commit to this crazy connection we both know exists. I can’t ignore it anymore, Ell, and I don’t want you to either. I didn’t use a damn condom because I never planned on this being a one-time fling. It’s complicated, but I’m past the point where I give a damn. Let’s make things as damn confusing as we want them to be. Explore this with me, or I know we’ll both regret it for the rest of our lives. At least, I know
I
will.”

Her heart skittered as she watched his expression. It went from dark and confused to stubbornly determined. Zane wanted her to be…
his
.

“Monogamous?” she questioned, making sure she understood what he wanted.

He nodded sharply. “For both of us.”

She smiled. “I didn’t wait this long to toss you away for another guy.”

“I don’t know what I’d do if you did. I’ve never felt like this before. Jesus! I’m jealous of any other man who even gets your attention.”

“Because of what happened to me?” she queried softly.

He hesitated before answering. “I’m not sure. It’s like when you disappeared, I realized that I might have lost something that I should have pursued a long time ago. I’ve always been attracted to you, but I thought you deserved a hell of a lot more than the mad scientist who knows nothing about a real relationship or romance. And you were Chloe’s best friend. Hell, my entire family is almost like family to you. It could have ended up awkward if you weren’t interested.”

Tears welled up in Ellie’s eyes as she watched Zane make himself so vulnerable.
How could he have ever assumed she wouldn’t want to go out with him?
“I was infatuated with you when I was in high school, and it never went away, even when you came back to visit when you were in college. But you were so smart, so handsome, and so rich. I told myself that someone like you could never care about a chubby, plain, and desperately poor woman like me. So when you were home, I kept my distance when I could so I didn’t make a fool out of myself.” Her heart felt like a fist was tightening around it, and her tears flowed faster.

“You were
curvy
, something that got me hard every time I looked at you, sweetheart.” He pulled her into his lap and held her like he couldn’t let go. “I loved your beautiful blue eyes and crazy sexy blonde hair. You’re beautiful, Ell. You always have been. But what I’ve always liked about you is that you accept me the way that I am. Hell, I’m thinking you even like me the way I am.” Zane took a deep breath before he asked, “So can we try this? Can you be happy with a guy who isn’t exactly polished with romantic words or one who doesn’t always know what to do when you cry like you’re doing right now? Oh hell, why
are
you crying?”

She smiled at him through her tears. “Because, even though you profess not to be a romantic guy, I think what you just said was probably the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”

T
hey stayed in Denver for the next few months, and Ellie was happier than she could remember being in her entire life. Most of the day, she worked at her own desk in Zane’s enormous office that he never used. Most of his time was spent in the secured research area of the enormous building.

Strange, but she’d never quite realized just how big or multinational his laboratories actually were, or just how much responsibility he took onto his broad shoulders. Occasionally, she had to remind him that he alone wasn’t responsible for curing or preventing every health issue in the world.

Lately, he’d smiled and laughed more than she’d imagined possible. She cherished every naughty grin and amused bark of laughter that left his mouth, because she thought he took himself way too seriously.

With ongoing counseling, not only was Ellie starting to recover from her traumatic imprisonment—although there were some things that might never quite go away—but she was also starting to see herself differently. No longer did she look at herself and see a woman who wasn’t the least bit interesting or attractive. She saw herself as a woman who was trying to improve herself, be what she should have been before she’d been kidnapped.

With Zane’s permission, she’d put a workshop in his finished basement, using the downstairs kitchen that he’d never even touched to set up shop. Slowly, her Internet business was growing, and Ellie was studying and experimenting every chance she got. Her products were beginning to catch on, and suddenly everybody wanted to try some of her aromatherapy fragrances.

Every weekend, she and Zane would go somewhere she’d never been before, and she’d started to actually explore the world outside Rocky Springs and even beyond Denver. Even though she’d always love her beautiful hometown in the mountains, she loved the fact that Zane surprised her with a new destination to see at the end of every week.

Last weekend, he’d flown them to California so she could see the Pacific Ocean, and they’d played like children for two days on the beach.

The nights belonged to them, and Zane had made it his mission to see how many ways he could pleasure her body. Turned out, he really
did
have very dirty fantasies about her, and she had cried out with pleasure through every one of them.

Ellie had reached her goal for weight gain, so she tried to spend as much time getting off her butt as possible. Zane had an indoor pool in his Denver mansion just like he had in Rocky Springs, so she tried to swim every evening, and tried to do some time on the treadmill as often as possible. So far, her weight had stayed steady.

Though, if she were honest, the workout Zane gave her in bed every night was probably why she wasn’t gaining weight. He’d taken her to just about every restaurant in the area that he personally liked, every single one of them fantastic.

Her only complaint was that he wouldn’t let her settle her old debt with him. He refused to let her pay for anything, nor would he take any part of her paycheck as his assistant to try to pay him back for all that he’d done for her in the past. In fact, he refused to even acknowledge that she owed him anything.

It was the only thing they ever really fought over.

Unlike some couples, the remote control was never an issue. She loved watching the science channels with him, and he’d become almost as addicted to her crime shows as she had always been. They rarely missed an episode of
Supernatural
, but if they did, they were quick to pick it up on demand. It seemed they were equally quirky about what shows and movies they watched.

Tonight, she’d left him watching a documentary on TV to go down to her workshop and pack some products. Ellie made it a point to make sure her orders got out for delivery quickly.

“I missed you,” Zane’s voice said huskily from behind her.

She’d heard him coming downstairs, but hadn’t expected to suddenly feel his hard body pressed against her back. She startled, nearly dropping the candles she was packing.

He stretched out his hand and caught the box expertly, setting it back on the counter.

Ellie’s heart still racing, she turned around in his arms. “You scared me,” she told him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Totally unintentional,” he said remorsefully.

“I know. It’s not you. I guess I still have some involuntary reactions that I can’t control.” Ellie hated it when her rational brain didn’t connect with her body sometimes.

Zane took her hand and led her over to the media area with a sectional couch. He dropped onto the middle of it and pulled her into his lap. “Do you want to talk about it?”

No! No, I don’t.

Any time it came to really discussing her experiences during her horrific months in captivity, she preferred to pretend it never happened. Natalie never let her get away with avoiding it for long, and some of those sessions were brutally difficult, but Zane hadn’t ever pushed her.

She shook her head, but answered, “I don’t know. Sometimes I think I’m over it and moving on, but once in a while I still feel the scars inside me that haven’t quite healed. I’m not quite sure I’ll even have complete closure because he’s dead, and he died while I was still in the cabin.”

“The bastard took the coward’s way out. You never got to see him in court, and you never got to see him pay for what he did,” Zane replied angrily.

She nodded. “Exactly. It’s like he never existed. It’s weird because I was relieved he was dead, but I was angry, too.”

“It’s not weird, sweetheart. I think it’s natural to feel that way.”

Ellie sighed, knowing she’d never feel as close to anyone as she did to the man comforting her right now. She didn’t want to close him out, and she wouldn’t want it from him if he’d gone through something traumatic. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“Wherever you want,” Zane said gently. “Tell me the things that haunt you the most.”

“The fact that I didn’t get away with his laptop the day it happened. I think about what I could have done differently. Maybe I should have gotten out of the office quicker. Maybe I didn’t fight hard enough because I was hoping I could talk him down. Maybe I shouldn’t have run, and I could have pretended I didn’t know until I had the opportunity to steal his computer from him. There’s so many things I could have done differently that might have saved both me and Chloe some pain.”

Zane absently stroked his hand over her curls as he answered, “You did the best that you could under the circumstances. Any of those alternatives might have failed.”

“Possibly,” she agreed. “But I’ll never know. There was no opportunity after that to escape. I think I was unconscious during most of the drive to the cabin, so I had no idea where I was. It was disorienting, and he had me chained before my head could clear.”

“How often did he come up to the cabin? Did he leave right away?”

Ellie wished he would have left her alone. “No. He stayed that night, using every minute to try to scare me into submission. Every time I argued, he hit me. It was a really long night.”

She felt Zane’s body tense beneath hers as he asked, “Did he strip you, or did you do that yourself?”

“He used a carving knife to cut off everything I was wearing. A scare tactic, and it worked. I was afraid he was going to rape me, kill me, or both.” She took a deep breath before adding, “He took my clothing that first night. When he left the next morning, I was pretty torn up.”

“Fuck! I wish I’d suspected him earlier when I could have had him followed. By the time I went back to Rocky Springs convinced it was James, it was too late.”

“There’s no way you could have known.” Ellie stroked his cheek and whiskered jaw. “I’m just lucky you’re a genius or I’d be dead.”

“Why didn’t he leave more supplies? He only left enough for you to barely stay alive.”

Ellie shrugged. “I think he wanted me weak and barely living. He also got a kick out of me begging for more food and water. I tried not to, but while I was still semi-alert, I did. I was always thirsty, always hungry.”

“He was a sadistic prick,” Zane rumbled.

“Very sadistic,” Ellie answered sadly. “And when I begged, I gave him exactly what he wanted.”

“Don’t,” he said urgently. “Don’t ever blame yourself. Every time he hurt you, it was because he was almost pissing himself with fear because Chloe left him to go work for Gabe. Walker pulled her out of a bad situation.”

“Thank God,” Ellie replied, sounding relieved. “James never told me that. He just kept saying they were getting married soon. I felt so helpless to do anything to save her.”

“You worried about her, and she drove herself crazy trying to find you. I’ve never seen Chloe as distraught as when you disappeared. I think for a while she was in denial, believing she could find you. When she couldn’t, she was destroyed,” Zane confided.

“But we’re both happy now,” Ellie observed wistfully. “I’m not going to let an evil dead man destroy my life or Chloe’s.”

Zane hugged her tightly and Ellie rested her head on his shoulder. He rocked her tenderly as he said, “I know you won’t. Christ! You’re the bravest woman I’ve ever known. And you managed to hold on until I found you.”

Ellie smiled against the soft material of his T-shirt. “I think I’ve spent my whole life waiting for you to find me in one way or another.”

“Not anymore,” Zane rasped. “Never again. I’ll never make you wait for anything again.”

“Mmmm…what about last night? I distinctly remember you making me wait.” In fact, he’d teased her until she was almost completely crazy with the need to climax.

Zane chuckled. “A different situation altogether. In that particular case, I was going to make it worth the wait. Was it?”

Ellie shivered as she remembered the way her body had come apart when Zane finally stopped teasing her and gave her what she needed. “Worth it, but completely unfair,” she admonished him in a faux-petulant voice. “I think it’s my turn to make
you
wait.”

He pulled her gently back by her hair so he could see her face. “Baby, I’d wait forever if I had to.”

The sincerity in his vow sent a wave of tenderness through her heart. He claimed not to be romantic, but his blunt words got to her in ways that nobody else’s ever had. She licked her dry lips as she stared into his earnest gray eyes. Every word he spoke was honest, every comment sincere. Her body clamored for her to take this man and savor him for a lifetime.

Zane was special.

And he was hers.

“I have to pack my orders,” she said weakly.

“I came down to help you,” he retorted. “But I also just got some pictures from Chloe.”

Getting on her knees beside him, she started feeling him up for his cell phone. “Let me see,” she insisted excitedly, rubbing a hand over the front pockets of his jeans to find his phone.

He stopped her marauding fingers by grabbing her wrist. “Jesus, woman. If you don’t stop that you’re going to find more than you’re looking for,” he told her in a husky, warning voice.

“Or I might find exactly what I want,” she told him in a sultry voice.

“How fast can we pack those items?” Zane asked desperately.

“Very. But can I see Chloe?” Ellie cherished every picture of her best friend. Occasionally, Chloe sent a video, and she looked so happy. “Where is she?”

Zane fished into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. “They’re in the Bahamas. Their last stop. This weekend we can go home. She’ll be back at Gabe’s place by then. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you more warning. Gabe said they were both getting homesick and were ready to go back to the ranch.”

He brought up Chloe’s latest text message with a picture. Ellie smiled broadly as she saw her friend with Gabe, a man Ellie only knew very casually. She’d met him a few times, but every time she saw a picture of Gabe with Chloe, she liked him even more. It was clear that Gabe made Chloe happy, and for that alone, Ellie adored him already.

Both of them were smiling at the camera, holding their fancy drinks up as though they were toasting the world. Chloe’s lips were turned up in a large, genuine smile that made her eyes glow with joy. Gabe had his arm around her shoulders, grinning like he didn’t have a care in the world.

Ellie traced the outline of the couple lightly. “You can tell how much they love each other.”

“It’s even more obvious in person, believe me,” Zane answered, sounding amused.

“I can’t believe I’m finally going to see her again. It seems like it’s been forever. So much has happened.”

“Hey, you’re not nervous, are you?” Zane tilted her chin to look at her face.

“A little. I don’t want to spoil her happiness now.”

“God, Ellie. You won’t. Don’t you know how damn much she loves you? Seeing you will put the last piece of the puzzle back together again. It will make Chloe complete. She misses you so much, and she’s been mourning you even though you’re still alive. If anybody is scared, it should be me. She’s going to kill me for not telling her the truth. Gabe is probably going to be in trouble, too.”

“He knows?” Ellie asked curiously.

“Blake is his best friend. I have no doubt he knows, but he must have decided not to say anything. Chloe pesters me every day about you. I’m glad she’s coming home. I hate brushing her off and pretending like I’m accepting the fact that you aren’t coming back. Hell, I hate lying to her.”