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Too bad.
He had no right to emote, subtly or otherwise, when they hadn’t even gotten to
first base yet. Or when he seemed determined to keep
himself
at a distance.

The past few months had taught her that
she was severely lacking in reading men but despite that, Zachary Savage had
made it clear—graphically clear—what he intended to happen between
them. His words had left her so
hot,
she was
milliseconds away from jumping him.

Except he seemed to be in no hurry to
follow through.
Being made a complete fool of by Chris
had left scars she was terrified would never heal. The last thing she needed
was mixed signals from another man.

“I’ll get your concierge to make sure
your bags are packed and ready to go when we’re done with the concert.”

That he’d conceded so quickly soothed
her somewhat. But not enough to stop her from saying briskly, “No need. It’s
already sorted.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Tracy was looking lost after I told
her I won’t be needing her this morning and that I was leaving early. She
offered to pack and I accepted.” The pretty brunette who had been assigned to
her had asked if she’d done anything wrong. Bethany’s quick assurance had pacified
her. Getting her to sort out her the luggage she’d barely unpacked had pleased
the younger woman.

The doors opened and they stepped out.
There were only two suites on this floor. She fetched her keycard from her
purse and stopped in front of the door on the right.

Dropping her bag on the delicate cream
console table, she turned to find Zach leaning against the doorjamb. His gaze
scoured the room then returned to rest on her.

“So I’ll see you in about an hour?”

He nodded but made no move to leave.
The look in his eyes made her throat dry.

“Something on your mind?” she said,
noting how husky her voice had grown.

“This is the last time you get a
massage from anyone but me, Bethany.”

The possessive throb in his voice made
her stomach clench. “Enough with the highly charged words, Zach. For a man who
constantly screws me with his eyes, the fact that you haven’t even bothered to
kiss me makes me wonder if you’re all talk.”

He jerked upright so fast her breath
caught. He took a step forward, then stopped, fists clenched against his
thighs. Her senses screamed with the need for him to close the space between
them. But he just clamped his gorgeous lips together and shoved a hand through
his thick black hair.

Realizing he wasn’t going to come any
closer made the insane need to feel his mouth on hers grow stronger. She
watched him force control back into his body.

“We met thirty-eight hours and forty-six
minutes ago, Bethany Green. I intend to extract a kiss from those bee-stung
lips of yours for every minute of that time—when the time is right. I
will kiss you till you beg for mercy. Then I’ll kiss you elsewhere, right
between your legs. I intend to eat you for hours, until you beg for my cock.
And then I will fuck you until you pass out from screaming my name. And if you
think those are just
words, that
I don’t intend to
rock your fucking world, then I feel sorry for you. Because the reality will
blow your goddamn mind.”

Her mouth was still gaping open after
he’d turned on his heel and left. It was only the sound of his door slamming
from across the hall that roused her from her stupor.

In a semi-daze, she stared around the
room, unfocused and unsteady. She stumbled to the exquisite divan and collapsed
into it.

Without a doubt, Zachary Savage had a
way with words. And she was discovering her body had developed a unique and
heady way of responding to those words. She looked down and cringed when she
saw her nipples erect, aching and clearly visible through her top.

“
God!”
Disgusted with herself, she jumped up and headed for the suite’s bedroom.

By the time the sweet, middle-aged
masseuse appeared fifteen minutes later, she’d talked herself down from the
raging, sex-depraved stranger she’d become and back to being the normal,
sex-deprived woman she was used to.

***

He’d meant it when he said he had no
interest in the band. In fact, Zach seemed discomfited to the point of edginess,
and they were barely thirty minutes into Friday’s Child’s private concert.

“You don’t like rock bands, is that
it?” She had to lean in close to be heard over the sound of the lead singer’s
growly number; close enough to feel the heat of Zach’s skin just above the
collar of his shirt and smell the tangy scent of his aftershave.

In the semi-smoky club, she could see
women, and some men, giving him the once over and stopping to look again. Not
once did he return their gazes or show interest. His attention was focused
solely, squarely on her in a way that made her feel as if she was plugged
permanently into an electric feed caused by his eyes alone.

He shook his head and a strand of his
hair brushed her face. A tremble went through her.

“I like rock bands just fine.”

“But?” she probed, wanting him to throw
her a bone. Despite him saying they didn’t need the superfluous contraptions of
the whole getting-to-know-one-another thing, she wanted to know something about
the enigma that was Zachary Savage.

He made a sound that was halfway
between a sigh and a huff. “Someone I once knew loved their music. Hearing them
brings back memories.”

She was so shocked he’d given her
something personal that she didn’t want to acknowledge just what it was he’d
told her. And she felt the next question bubble up before she could stop it.
“Someone. Care to elaborate?”

His eyes darkened. “Not particularly.”

Again, stark and blunt.
He didn’t have to say the words for her to know she needed to back off.

This time she heeded the advice.
Pulling her gaze from his forceful stare, she glanced towards the stage where
the song was reaching its conclusion.

Jax went through an elaborate series of
drum riffs, ending in a deafening crescendo that made the room go wild.

As they accepted the rousing applause,
he looked over to her, pointed a drumstick at her and winked.

Blushing, she smiled and waved.

“You’re giving him the wrong signals.
Stop,” Zach said, his voice holding an edge she was beginning to recognize.

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t let him think you’re available,
because you’re not. And before you challenge me on that, think about the
futility of it for a moment. Would you rather spend your last hours in Shanghai
arguing with me or enjoying the band?”

“I excel at multi-tasking. I can do
both.”

“Instead of arguing you can tell me
what’s wrong with your feet,” he said.

“My feet?”

“You’ve been rubbing your arches
against that table leg for the last ten minutes.”

“They hurt more that I thought they
would. The masseuse asked if I wanted them rubbed but I declined because I
didn’t want to be late for dinner.”

She’d been eager to see him again. And
he seemed to know it. The smile he gave her sent goosebumps shivering over her
flesh. His lids descended and he seemed to debate with himself for several
seconds. Then his warm palm slid under her calf and lifted her leg into his
lap.

He started behind her knee. Warm,
pleasurable hands kneaded her tight muscles in a sure massage that sucked the
breath right of out of her lungs and made her blood pound hard in her ears. His
eyes fixed on her
face,
he applied a subtle pressure
all the way down her leg until he hit the prerequisite spot, right in the
middle of her foot.

Bethany couldn’t help the moan that
escaped her throat. He heard it. Grey eyes darkened to almost black and his
nostrils flared in reaction. He pressed his thumb over the sleek muscle again,
hard enough to cause pleasure and pain. Her sex throbbed violently.

“Do you like that?”

She was too far gone to even think of
being equivocal. “Yes.”

Her simple answer made him smile. It
was a smug smile, full of unrestrained satisfaction. She’d given the man what
he wanted. A feeling of unexpected pleasure fizzed through her.

“See how easy that was?” He increased
the pressure, confirming that this wasn’t the first time he’d given a foot
massage. A hot lance went through her. Stunned, she realized she was jealous.

“Don’t gloat, Savage,” she snapped, trying
to dispel the feeling. “It’s a turn off. You give good foot massage. Big deal.”

His smile was lethally erotic. “I give
good everything.”

“And now you’re just boasting.”

He stared at her for a long moment then
he looked around, a brief look of restless impatience accompanying the movement.
“Do we have to stay here?” he asked.

“I’ll answer that after you’ve seen to
my other foot.”

He did, so effectively that the moan
she’d sworn not to utter again leapt out before she could stop herself.

His grip tightened for a second. “God,
I can’t wait to hear you moan like that when I’m balls-deep inside you.”

Her foot jerked at the image that rose
in her mind. He pulled her foot closer, deeper into his crotch. When she
realized just what the pad of her foot rested on, she gasped.

He was large and full and solid as
steel. Before she could dismiss the thought, her foot flexed against him.

His groan was low and thick, a sound
that rumbled along her nerves and struck straight between her legs. He clutched
her foot against him for a second,
then
he reluctantly
removed it. With care, he lowered her feet and slipped her shoes back on.

“Not that I don’t appreciate foot jobs,
Peaches, but the first time you make me come, I want to be fully seated inside
your sweet cunt, with your screams ringing in my ears.”

Her brain was frying but she still
managed to blurt out, “Umm…
Peaches
?”

His grin was wide and hot and so
beautiful it made her chest ache just to see it. “That ass of yours makes me
think of firm, succulent peaches. I can’t wait to take my first bite.”

She was still absorbing that when he
adjusted himself, speared a slightly shaky hand through his hair and stood. He
gazed down at her, one hand held out.

The band was in the middle of a tune
about a hot, sultry night when she placed her hand in his and left the club.

Tracy was waiting for her, both Louis
Vuitton weekenders Keely had insisted she take neatly arranged on a porter’s
cart when she reached her suite.

The petite brunette’s gaze swung
between Zach and her, and Bethany caught a swiftly hidden look of envy as her
eyes tracked Zach to his suite door.

She turned and caught Bethany’s gaze,
then quickly smiled. “It’s been a pleasure hostessing for you, Miss Green,” she
said, her tone betraying nothing but pure professionalism.

Bethany smiled around the weird
feelings coursing through her. “Thank you, Tracy. I’m sorry I’m not staying for
the full trip.”

“That’s okay. It’ll be a pleasure to act
as your hostess again if…I mean when you join us for another trip.”

Since there was zero chance of that
happening again in this lifetime, Bethany merely smiled. Her smile widened when
Philip emerged from Zach’s suite, carrying large designer suitcases.

He exchanged a few words with Tracy
before leading Bethany into the elevator.

Bethany turned as Zach came out. Immediately,
she felt that knee-knocking zing of awareness and increased pulse rate that
watching him move brought.

As if perfectly attuned to her, his
head snapped up and his eyes clashed with hers.

A slow smile lifted his lips and she
forgot to breathe.

“I didn’t realize Philip was seeing to
you on this trip as well,” she said.

“Philip has been seeing to me for over
ten years,” he replied.

Surprise made her steps falter. “But I
thought he was my personal bodyguard.”

“I may have made a few adjustments to
the arrangements before we left New York.”

“A few adjust— You mean you were
so sure you’d achieve this end? That I’d come with you?”

“Not sure. Hopeful. Besides, I trust
Philip. More than any other human being.”

The unexpected insight into his life
made her glance at him, held her breath as she waited for more.

But he merely stepped into the elevator
and pushed the button for the first floor.

The limo ride to the airport was
different from the ride that had brought them to the hotel from their tour.

With the business world up and active
on the other side of the globe, Zach Savage went into full entrepreneurial
mode. Earpiece in place, he fired up a laptop, murmured an excuse and then
proceeded to make phone call after phone call all the way to the airport. He switched
from French to English to German with a fluency that made her eyes widen in
awe. He barely stopped to show his passport before he was back on the phone
again.