Lured In (Dark Paradise, #1) (7 page)

“I don’t know, and whatever it is, I sure don’t want it to stop.”

There was undeniable sexual tension, chemistry, or whatever else you want to call it between Zach and me. This man had my blood boiling, and I was boiling hard. We kissed again until he pulled away from me and stared into my eyes. He looked me up and down, smiled, and pulled me close to him.

Is it wrong or even possible to have such strong feeling for a total stranger? No, it’s not wrong. And yes, it is possible. Several people, for many, many years, had fallen in love with the man or woman of their dreams when they first laid eyes on each other. Could this possibly be one of those cliché love-at-first-sight stories? Maybe. Or is this just lust at first sight? Possibly…it has been about three and a half years since I last had a piece. Whatever it is, it has me on cloud nine, and I damn sure don’t want to come down.

“I’m sorry for last night. I had no idea that she would show up there, or anywhere near me, as a matter of fact,” Zach said.

“Who is she?”

“Someone from my past.”

“What did she want with you?”

“She wanted to know who you were and—”

“And what?”

“It’s nothing, Abi.”

Red flag! He’s hiding something big. Does she have something on him? Is he a sex-crazed psycho? Why the hell won’t he tell me? Maybe it’s because he doesn’t know you. Duh!

I raised my eyebrows and asked, “Is it something I should be alarmed about?”

“No, Abi. It’s nothing. Trust me.”

“How could I? I don’t know you. And it’s hard for me to trust anyone. Sorry.”

He kissed me and asked if we could sit and get to know each other. We walked over to the sofa and sat. Looking at the flower arrangement on the floor, he asked, “What, you didn’t like them?” He looked disappointed.

“They’re fine. Actually my favorites.”

“So why are they on the floor?”

I exhaled loudly, and he looked at me with his eyebrows furrowed.

“She is nothing to me. And for the record, you can’t wreck a home if there’s none to wreck. I’m sorry you thought you were being a homewrecker last night.”

“I didn’t know that before.”

“Now you know,” he replied, motioning his head to the flowers.

“Fine. I’ll pick them up and put them on the table if it pleases you.”

“Thank you. I put my heart into that arrangement.” That made me smile.

I bent down and picked up the flowers. “There. Happy?” I turned and asked.

He was smiling from ear to ear and had a twinkle in his eyes, and at that moment, I realized that my robe had ridden up in the back. I didn’t have on any clothes.

Oh shit! I totally forgot I didn’t have on any clothes to have bent over like that. He just saw my body, my ass. Oh fuck!

I had thrown on a ZAM’s nude stretch lace cheeky romper with a deep V-neck after my bath and then a short robe to open the door for Mr. Bill. I bolted from the foyer door and up the wide spiral staircase to my bedroom. I took off the robe and racy romper and put on my white lace cheeky panties and bra set, a pair of blue jeans, and a plain white T-shirt. I took a deep breath at the top of the stairs and went back down.

Zach was still sitting on the sofa, and when he saw me, his smile widened again.

“I like the first outfit better,” he said.

“I bet you do.” I smiled back and sat on the sofa.

“Were you a track star in school?” he asked, laughing his ass off, which made me laugh.

All the laughing allowed me to lower my guard and feel more relaxed.

“That is so not funny,” I said after we had stopped laughing.

“Oh, it’s funny as hell. You should’ve seen your face. It was like, ‘Oh shit, my ass is in the air’.” He really made me laugh when he imitated my facial expression.

“Enough laughing at me,” I said, pouting.

He kissed my pouty lips. “Better now? You know, you really didn’t have to change. I enjoyed the view when Carmen opened the door and you came charging at me. You were like a sexy little lioness. And me likey.” I blushed and shook my head.

Likely sensing that my guard was down, Zach asked, “Why is it hard for you to trust people, Abigail?”

“Wow! Straight to the point, huh?”

“I need to know so I don’t do anything to lose the little trust you have in me.”

“Who said I trusted you? How did you allow yourself to come to that conclusion?”

“If you didn’t, you would have asked me to leave a long time ago, and you wouldn’t have kissed me like that.”

“True. It’s hard. Really, really hard,” I said, referring to trusting.

“Tell me, Abigail. I have all day. I don’t mind listening.”

“I really don’t like talking about it. So I would appreciate it if you respect that.”

“OK. Sorry about that. But one day I hope you will trust me enough to share what’s bothering you.” He was soft and calm while reaching out and holding my hand.

“Thank you,” I said. “Are you a stalker?”

“Whoa. Where did that come from?”

“You.”

“From me?”

“Yes. I never gave you my cell number, and you called me over fifteen times and left messages. I never gave you my address, and you sent flowers and then showed up here. Care to explain that? ‘Cause from where I sit, that shit is very stalkerish.”

“Abi. I have my ways of finding out information.”

“Stalker,” I blurted out jokingly.

“No, Abi. I am not a stalker. But I did utilize my resources and took full advantage of the private information of yours that I have access to. And no, I am not sorry for abusing your privacy rights or whatever you want to call it.” He looked me square in my eyes and didn’t blink. No remorse, no nothing.

Another red flag? He’s unapologetic about invading my privacy. And while you’re at it, red flag yourself for not being concerned about this predator who’s roaming freely with no respect for your privacy.

“What resources do you have that give you access to my privacy?”

“Me, Abigail. I’m my own resource. Next question, please.” His tone was controlling and demanding, but he kissed my lips to pacify me.

“Why are you here? What do you want from me?”

“I came to apologize and to get to know you.”

“Know me how?” I asked with my eyebrows furrowed.

“However you want me to know you, Abigail. But I prefer to know all there is to Abigail Marie Winterfield. Her likes, her dislikes, favorite color, music, food…you know.”

He is really dark. The way he talks, the way he moves; even his eyes are dark. And why haven’t my past experiences put those infamous brick and metal walls between the two of us? What the hell is up with that? Why do I feel so at ease, so natural with him?

“Who are you? My past isn’t all roses and sunlight, so I can tell that you are a dark person. I don’t need you to confirm or deny it.”

“I’m Zach Austin McConnallay,” he replied, puzzled.

“No. Who are you? I don’t know you at all, but I know that I’m a different person when I’m near you. I’m relaxed, free, and more curious about you than I am concerned. Why you? What is it about you? And why are you so damn controlling and domineering…commanding?”

“Controlling? Domineering? Commanding? How’d you gather that?”

“I told you, I’ve learned from my past experiences. Am I right?”

He took a deep breath and asked, “Would you rather have me tell you what you want to hear or what you say you already know?”

Fuck! My smart-ass mouth wasn’t ready for that kind of response. I am definitely playing with fire. Molten lava sounds more like it. Play with fire, Abigail, and your ass will get burned.

“I take it that you weren’t expecting me to respond like that?”

Damn! Now he’s even reading my mind? Should I wave the all-too-familiar red flag and forget about him altogether? Or wave the white flag and surrender to the nirvana of these new feelings that I experience only around him? I am so out of my element right now. And I’m too fragile to play with fire or get close to an unpredictable volcano. Hell, as a Scorpio I am just as volcanic.

“No, I wasn’t,” I finally replied.

“You pondered that question for a while. Out of curiosity, if I was to give you a red flag and a white flag, which would you prefer?”

I gasped loudly and jumped up. He got up behind me and asked what the matter was.

“Nothing. I need something to drink.”

“So we’ll come back to the questions later?”

“Please!” I replied almost immediately.

I went to the kitchen to get a cup of water and offer Zach a drink. He asked for wine.

“Red or white?” I asked. I immediately laughed out loud, which made him look at me bemusedly.

“Yet another red or white option,” I said.

“I don’t get it, Abi.”

I walked over to the bar and explained to him that I had internally asked myself if I wanted to raise a red flag or a white flag. And, almost instantly, he’d asked me the same thing out loud, just as the thought had left my mind.

“So that’s why you jumped up like that,” he said with relief. “White,” he finally said, coming over to the bar. “And which option have you opted for?” He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my neck.

I sighed deeply and broke away from his grip. He took the bottle of white wine from me and opened it with the corkscrew that I pulled from behind the bar. I grabbed two glasses and sat them on the bar. He smiled and said, “Then white it is,” and began filling our glasses.

We went through a bottle of white wine and two Perfect Angel shots each while we talked. In the middle of our conversation, his phone rang, and he looked down to see the number on the caller ID. He looked back up at me and said, “It’s her.”

“Her who?”

“Taylor. The girl from last night.”

I grabbed his phone and put it on speaker, and he answered, “What is it, Taylor?”

“Hey, Zach,” Taylor said.

“No. It’s Abigail. What do you want with him?”

She paused for a while, probably in shock that I was on the other end.

“I called for Zach, so why are you answering his phone like you’re his secretary or something?” she finally asked.

“I am well aware that you called for Zach, but you got me instead. Can I help you with something, Taylor?”

“Put Zach on the phone.”

“That’s not going to happen. But you are more than welcome to talk to me.”

“Put Zach on the phone,” she said again, this time yelling.

“OK,” I said.

Now maybe it was all the wine and shots I had drank that made me jokingly straddle Zach and kiss him so that Taylor could hear through the phone, but things got heated, really fast, between us, and that silly joke turned into something special that I wasn’t expecting. I felt him get hard beneath me, and I moaned deeply into his mouth.

“Zach! Zach!” Taylor called through the phone that we had so quickly forgotten about.

Zach took the phone from my hand that was behind his head and hung it up. We continued kissing, unhurriedly, and roaming our hands over each other’s bodies. His phone rang again, and a quick glare showed that it was Taylor again.

“Fuck that phone,” Zach said with his tongue in my mouth.

He felt and tasted so damn good. He put his hands in my hair, yanked it back gently, and took my neck in his mouth.

Oh God. Is this really happening? After nearly three and a half years, I’m finally going to give in and give it up to someone? And the way he makes my body feel, why not let it be him?

He drew my face in with his hands, looked me intensely in my eyes, and asked, “Do you trust me enough to let me make love to you?”

I took a deep breath and nodded yes.

“Is that a yes, Abigail?”

“It is.”

He kissed me and whispered, “Ah, Abigail. You are so beautiful. You got me so hard for you.”

“Mmm, Zach. What are you doing to me? Why does my body respond to you like this? Why am I letting you this close to me? I don’t even know you.”

He flipped me onto my back and knelt between my thighs. He ravished my neck, sending my body screaming for release.

He cupped both my breasts, and through the T-shirt and lace bra I had on, he gently wrapped his teeth around my right nipple and stared deeply into my eyes, watching how I responded. I moaned softly and felt my pussy throb more. He did the same to the left one. He must’ve felt the heat come from my pussy through my jeans, because he ground the hard bulge in his pants hard against my enclosed wet pussy. My blood was boiling, and from the flush in his face, it seemed his was too.

“Abi, do you trust me to let me make love to you?” he asked again.

I nodded yes again while sighing loudly. He cradled my face with his hands and asked, “Is that a yes?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Here?” he asked

“No. Upstairs. My room.” He got up from between my shaky thighs, grabbed my hands, and led me upstairs like he knew where he was going. I directed him to my bedroom from behind his lead.

Zach pushed me against the first wall he saw, raised my hands above my head, slowly removed my T-shirt, and with one hand lifted my chin so that my eyes connected with his. I bit down on my bottom lip and sighed deeply through my nose while staring deeply in his eyes.