Billionaire Bad Boy (11 page)

"Are you ready for this?" he asked finally. "You're
not going to chicken out on me?"

"Chicken out? Me? Never." Not now anyway. She
had her pride.

"Good. It's a piece of cake. It's just like
driving a car."

It was nothing like driving a car. Zack went through
each of the components and instruments of the bike then gave step-by-step
instructions on how to start, stop and steer.

"Now get on."

She did.

"Start it up."

So far so good.

"Drive down the street, turn around and come
back. Slowly," he added. Like she needed reminding.

She kicked the engine over as instructed, placed her
feet on the pedals and felt herself toppling. She managed to return one foot to
the ground before the bike keeled over with her still on it.

She grinned at Zack who expelled a long breath and
brushed a hand over his eyes.

"Just checking to see if you were watching,"
she said.

"You're dangerous, Annie McCallum," he said
above the roar of the engine. The edges of his mouth softened. "Very
dangerous."

This time Annie left one foot on the ground until the
bike inched forward. She rode down to the end of her street, thanking the
Powers That Be that traffic was minimal, turned and rode back again. She
stopped the bike at Zack's feet.

"Easy," she said.

"Good. Do it again. Faster this time."

She rode around the street five more times before Zack
nodded. "Okay, you're ready."

"For what?"

"A bigger road."

She shook her head. "No way. I'm not riding in
traffic." She started to get off. He placed a gentle but firm hand on her
shoulder. Out-classed, she sat back down. "I'm not riding on the open
road," she said weakly.

"Yes you are."

"You can't tell me what to do, Zack."

He crossed his arms. "I'll tell Bob."

She hesitated then said, "I don't care."

His face changed subtly, the tiny lines around his
eyes relaxing as he peered down at her. He placed his hands on her shoulders
and rubbed his thumbs across the smooth leather of her jacket.

"Look," he said, "I know you're scared.
I know this is a big step for you, but—"

"I am
not
scared."

She shoved his hands off and revved the
engine louder to drown out his chuckling.
Arrogant jerk
. She was about
to head off when he swung his leg over the bike and settled in behind her.

She twisted around. "What are you
doing?"

"You don't think I'd let you go out
for a ride on your own already do you? I'm not insane."

She had her suspicions that it had nothing to do with
letting her go on her own, and everything to do with being close to her
leather-clad butt. Okay, she could deal with that.

Zack held onto the handle attached to the seat behind
him instead of her waist. A few deep breaths later and she took off, a little
faster than before, and headed out of her street.

It took a while before she felt completely comfortable
but eventually she began to relax and enjoy the sensation of riding a
motorbike, not as a passenger but as the driver. It was infinitely less scary
than sitting behind Zack. She felt totally and completely in control now, even
to the point where she accelerated to the speed limit. Well, almost.

An hour later and she'd done a full circle after
cruising along the beach, feeling superior and cooler than any of the
bikini-clad girls strutting their stuff along the foreshore. None of
them
had a gorgeous hunk willing to show them how to ride his most prized
possession.

Finally, she eased the bike back into her street and
parked outside her building. Zack got off first and she switched the engine
off.

"Well?" he asked, beaming down at her. He
looked like a proud father.

She shrugged. "It was okay."

"Okay? Ha! You loved it, Babe, I could
tell."

Babe! He'd called her Babe! What did that mean? And
did it have anything to do with him seeing her naked butt again?

Zack's good humor was infectious and she finally conceded
that the ride had given her a real buzz. "Did you see everyone stare at
us?" she asked, leading the way inside. "They thought I was so
cool."

"Next time, you go on your own. You need more
practice before Dug-E arrives but I think you'll do great. And just so you
sound like you know what you're talking about, I'll be giving you a pop quiz in
a few days."

She groaned. "This is worse than high
school."

They stopped at her front door, and she suddenly felt
awkward.

"You coming in?" she asked tentatively.

"You inviting me in?"

She paused. "You going to walk in on me naked
again?"

"Maybe."

She thumped him lightly in the chest and they both
grinned.

Inside, she headed for the fridge while Zack avoided
the yapping Snoopy. She produced two beers and handed one to him.

"I think he likes you," she said.

"I think he wants to hump my leg."

"You're lucky. Usually when I bring a man back
here he wants to bite their, um, you-know-what off."

Zack placed the beer bottle in front of his groin. "I
feel privileged. So what's with the beer?" He pointed to the bottle in her
hand. "I thought you only drank wine."

"I'm practicing. Besides, I figured it was a bit wimpy
to drink wine after riding a motorbike."

He nodded and maneuvered carefully past Snoopy to sit
on her sofa. "Mind if I turn on the TV?" he asked as he turned on the
TV.

"Sure, treat this place like your own?"

"There's a game on."

"Even better," she groaned but sat beside
him anyway. "Basketball?"

"Baseball."

"Lucky me."

"Don't like baseball?"

"Can't say I've ever sat and watched a whole
game. It looks pretty boring."

"Maybe I'll take you one day," he said,
settling into the sofa.

"I'll look forward to it." Maybe she
actually would. She'd sit through a hundred boring ball sports if Zack took
her. "I didn't realize you liked sport."

He frowned at her. "What gave you that
idea?"

She shrugged. "I thought you'd be too,
ah...busy."

The frown deepened. "Something tells me you were
going to say too rich."

"No! No, no, no. And there's no such thing as too
rich in LA anyway."

He looked at her for a long time. "Right."

Right? It didn't sound right. He sounded annoyed. What
had she said to offend him? "Same as being too famous, or too
attractive," she persisted. "Or too weird."

He grunted. "Cocky little thing, aren't
you?"

"Takes one to know one."

He grinned slyly and turned back to the TV. Nothing
much seemed to be happening in the game but he was glued to the set. Annie sat
back in the sofa beside him and watched, trying to work out the appeal of
baseball. From what she could see it was a bunch of men dressed in funny pants
spitting on the field. It was kind of disgusting really. She sighed. How long
did a whole game go for? An hour? Two? All day? She tapped the beer bottle with
her fingernails and glanced around the room, looking for something to do.

Zack sighed. "Relax and enjoy the game."

"No offence, but baseball is boring."

"Then just sit and enjoy peace and quiet."

"Huh?"

He shrugged. "Just think your own thoughts for a
while. You don't have to be doing something every waking moment. Get some down
time."

"Down time? Are you crazy? Who's got time for
down time? I've got dishes in the sink, the floor needs sweeping and Snoopy
smells." None of which she usually cared about but it was too late to take
it back now.

"You definitely need to relax. You're more
uptight than I thought."

"Do you deliberately try to annoy me, Zack or
does it just come naturally?"

His grin was lopsided. "Sometimes." He
deftly dodged her fist. "But this isn't one of them. I thought you had the
attitude thing down okay, but now I'm not so sure. From what Bob told me, this
Dug-E kid doesn't care about anything."

"When he's not smashing up hotel rooms. So?"

"So you shouldn't too. You need to go with the
flow a bit more. Loosen up. Relax."

"Stop telling me to relax. It's driving me
nuts."

He threw up his hands. "There you go again."
He shook his head and placed his beer on the coffee table. "Turn around
and I'll give you a massage," he said, laying his hands on her shoulders. "Maybe
that'll help."

She didn't hesitate. It was all part of her training after
all, and he was the teacher. A damn good one too. His hands were gentle but
firm, relaxing her to melting point.

Minutes slipped by as the slow, sure fingers continued
to work on her shoulders, down her arms and back, to her hips, snaking around
her waist. His body moved into hers and she leaned into him, pressing herself
against the hard muscles of his chest. She heard him catch his breath then let
it out roughly as he bent to kiss her neck. A shot of warm tingles swept across
her flesh as her body liquefied under his touch.

"That's it," he whispered against her skin,
"just relax." He turned her face toward him and kissed her lips. He
was soft, warm and oh-so sure.

Annie's first reaction was to kiss him back—he
tasted
good
. Her second, and the one she went with, was to pull away. She
retreated to her side of the sofa and Zack, blinking dumbly back at her,
eventually did the same.

"This is wrong," she said. But it didn't
even cover half of it. It wasn't wrong—it had felt so right—but it
wasn't fair. How long could something last between two people so inappropriate
for each other? They might want each other sexually but it wouldn't work out. She
knew it, and she knew he did too. She'd rather stop now instead of later
because somehow she suspected she'd be the injured party if she let the kiss
continue and develop into something more. Something that ended in the bedroom. She
knew she couldn't handle a one night stand with Zack. She wanted more, but he
didn't care enough to give it to her.

Looking at him staring back at her with his gooey
chocolate eyes, a pang of regret fluttered in her stomach. Okay, so it was more
like a sickening blow than a flutter. Either way, it hurt and she wondered if
she'd done the right thing. For the millionth time since meeting Zack DiMarco,
she wished she didn't have principles, or hormones.

Zack turned away from her and ruffled his dark hair,
sexing it up even more.

"What's wrong?" he murmured.

"Nothing."

Without looking in her direction, his lips twisted
into a small, sarcastic smile. "Look, I didn't mean anything by that. I
was just getting you to relax."

So the kiss was purely mechanical. It was all a part
of his grand scheme to turn her into a rebel. Or was it some kind of macho cop-out
to save his self-esteem?

She wanted to ask but she could only manage,
"Huh?"

He looked at her, his eyes smoldering dangerously
behind hooded lids. She braced herself for what was to come. "Chalk the
experience up to practice, Annie. You seemed to need it."

"What?" she exploded. "I need practice
at kissing now?"

"Yeah." He looked away. "It's all part
of being a wild child. Which you're clearly not," he said, his voice low
and rough. "And since you'll probably have to kiss this Dug-E guy to
convince him..." He trailed off and stood abruptly, his face turned away
from her.

She stared at him, open-mouthed and wide-eyed. She
couldn't believe what she was hearing. "He's eighteen!"

Zack seemed to stiffen, but it might have been her
imagination, wanting to get some sort of reaction. She sensed rather than saw
evidence of the bubbling heat of anger boiling, barely contained, just below
his controlled surface.

"Right," he said evenly. "He's probably
got more experience than you."

Annie had to stand and move around to face him to get
a good, satisfying, cracking slap on his cheek.

Zack's only reaction to the slap was a slight, mocking
smile.

"Good," he said. "That's exactly what a
rebel would do. You're learning." After a hesitation, he added,
"Although it's not very becoming on you."

This time he caught her hand inches from his cheek.

"I think I'd better shut up now," he said.

"I think you should've shut up five minutes
ago."

"You had your tongue down my throat five minutes
ago." He still held her hand, but not tightly. She could've pulled free at
any time. "Then all of a sudden you didn't."