“Oops, I don’t think he liked it.”
He laughed. “I think he’s eager to get
started.”
“Get started with what?” she asked, the
suspicion in her eyes growing.
Zach nodded to the waiting attendants.
The first one stepped forward with the chair-like saddle. At a few sharp words
in the Bedouin dialect, the animal folded itself gracefully onto the ground.
Several attendants did the same to
their animals as a few more guests drifted out of the various tents.
He heard Bethany’s soft gasp. “Umm, I
hope this isn’t what I think it is.”
Behind him, Philip stood with the
wide-brimmed hat he’d asked him to bring along. Zach took it and placed it on
her head. “It’s exactly what you think it is, Peaches. We’re going camel
racing.”
Bethany’s shout of glee a little while later
made Zach glance over at her as she trotted past him, her grip tight around the
two wooden holds that protruding from the saddle.
For the last half hour, they’d ridden
deeper into the desert with fifteen other racers. High and low sand dunes
undulated across the russet horizon. Beneath their feet, the red sand kicked up
dust as camel feet pounded across it.
The lead Bedouin rider gave a sharp
shout and animals picked up speed.
Bethany glanced over at him again and
his breath caught at the sheer delight in her face. Before now, he’d only seen
that look when they fucked. He was fast becoming addicted to that look. Hell,
he knew it was why he found it damned hard to keep his hands off her. And why
he’d pushed thoughts of returning to the real world farther and farther away.
Despite what he’d boldly claimed in
Paris, he’d had serious second thoughts as to whether this thing between them
could survive outside the bubble he’d placed them in. Sure, everything he’d
claimed he could make happen could probably happen, but even he knew there were
forces outside his control.
The same forces that had ripped Farrah
away from him.
God, why the hell was he thinking about
her today? He gritted his teeth as he acknowledged that on some level he’d used
sex with Bethany to smother what being here in Marrakech did to him.
But as much as he refused to think
about it, he knew he’d have to confront the real world soon enough. Even if he
wanted to stay here indefinitely, which he knew he couldn’t, Bethany had a life
to return to. A life he craved being part of…
He just needed to come up with a solid
plan to make it happen.
“Earth to Savage.”
He refocused on the woman who sat atop
the white camel, her long hair lifting in the breeze. “Are you enjoying
yourself, Peaches?”
“Hell, yeah, I’m loving every minute of
it.” Her gaze dropped to his mouth and she licked her lips. The knowledge that
she wanted to kiss him made his gut clench as fiery lust tore through him.
“Thank you.”
“You can thank me properly later,” he
replied.
Her eyes darkened and her grip
tightened on the saddle. The temptation to lean in and kiss her threatened to
overcome him.
The sharp cry of the lead Bedouin rider
brought a welcome distraction.
Their eyes met again with a look that
made his insides sizzle, then he kicked the flanks of his camel and turned it
around.
Having grown more confident with each
minute in the saddle, Bethany turned her own mount and lined up with the rest
of the racers.
The look she sent him as the race
leader raised his pistol was both challenging and exhilarated. At the shot, she
dug her heels hard into her mount and sprinted away. Zach let her take the
lead, content to bask in her excitement, and watch the enticing shape of her
ass, from directly behind her.
Her determination saw her come second,
and he grinned as she whooped with triumph and waved her hat over her head like
a conquering marauder.
He brought his camel close to hers and
tugged her to him as soon as they’d both dismounted.
God, he loved how she felt in his arms.
So much so that a thread of fear knifed through his pleasure. But it wasn’t nearly
enough for him to loosen his hold on her.
“Hey, Peaches,” he murmured softly.
“Hey,” she responded, sliding her hands
around his waist. Her breath washed his face and he swallowed hard.
“Are you sore?”
She groaned and moved gingerly. “More
than I’ve ever been in my life.”
He gave a low laugh and moved in closer
so his next words wouldn’t be overheard. “Hmm, I must not be fucking you right,
then.”
Her fingers tightened convulsively
around his waist. “Damn, only you would take that as a challenge. This is an
entirely different soreness, Savage.”
God, he even loved it when she called him
Savage. He glanced at her full mouth, every cell in his body screaming to taste
her. He forced himself to stay still, to be respectful of his surroundings.
“Come and have some lunch. Then I’ll take you to a place where we’ll make
things all better.”
“Another surprise?”
He nodded. “You’ll love this one, too.
I promise.”
***
Bethany emerged from the changing room
in the luxury spa Zach had brought her too after the camel racing and smiled at
the attendant who handed her thick robe.
“This way, please.”
The attendant led her along a hallway
with taupe-colored walls. Short candles ensconced in the walls provided soft,
romantic lighting, and hypnotic Eastern music played over invisible speakers.
Through arched windows, a gentle breeze carried gorgeous scents from the
carefully manicured gardens and she sighed as the attendant opened a door and
stood aside to let her through.
The room was decorated in gold and
silver mosaic tiles and held a massage table. A white curtain had been drawn
across the middle of the room, hiding what lay beyond.
Curious, she took a step towards it and
gasped when it slid back and Zach emerged from behind it. The white towel tied
around his waist did nothing to hide his virility.
Her heartbeat soared as her gaze slid
helplessly over his damp skin. With firm hands on her shoulders, he turned her
round and walked her back to the massage table.
“Time for your massage.”
He tugged her robe off her shoulders,
hung it behind the door and turned the lock before returning to help her onto
the table.
“Is it worth me even asking if you’re
allowed to do this here?”
“Do what? You’ve instituted a no-sex
day, remember? I’m just here to make sure you have the best possible time.
Without sex.”
The sharp pang of disappointment made
her bite her lip as she settled back on the table.
He reached across her to grab the
bottle containing amber-colored liquid. The flex of his abs and the warmth of
his golden skin made her want to retract her no-sex stipulation and jump him
right there and then.
But being away from his house, watching
him interact with others during the race and lunch, and sitting beside him on
what she could probably call their first date had shown her that she wanted
Zachary Savage outside of the bedroom, too. She wanted more dates. Wanted to
know more about him than what made him hard and how long he could hold onto his
control in bed.
To do that, she needed to be able to
withstand seeing him like this and not touching. She needed to feel his hands
on her and think her way through it. Otherwise sex would be all they would
have.
Her breath caught.
What
the hell happened to just having fun?
She caught his gaze on her and squeezed
her eyes shut. She wasn’t ready to answer that question, wasn’t ready to
acknowledge that something was happening to her that scared the shit out of
her.
His hands slid up her midriff and she
fought the slide into insanity.
Was it worth contemplating future with
this man? Her every instinct screamed yes, but her head cautioned against it.
Zach had said in Paris that they
wouldn’t be over after this trip.
And yet, after a week, she didn’t know
more than a handful of facts about the man who’d fulfilled every single one of
her sexual fantasies.
Falling in love with him—if she
allowed herself to fall in love with him—would be like falling in love
with a ghost.
“I can hear you thinking, Peaches.
You’re as stiff as a board. Relax.”
She cleared her mind of her troubling
thoughts and gave in to the firm, hypnotically soothing massage.
She was drifting away on a blissful sea
of pleasure when his hand drifted over her shoulders and fell away.
“You ticked an item on your list you
didn’t even know you had with the camel racing. How about we conquer something
else?”
She slowly opened her eyes. A small
smile lifted the corners of his mouth but his eyes were serious. “What are you
talking about?” she asked, her sense of comfort evaporating.
He picked her up off the table and
slowly lowered her to her feet. Twining her fingers with his, he led her to the
curtain and grasped one end of it.
“Your muscles are still sore. I think a
warm bath will work wonders—”
Fear congealed in her gut. “No. The
massage and shower was all I needed.”
“Bethany…”
“Zach—”
She stopped when he slid the curtain
back. The square sunken bath was laid with mosaic tiles like the rest of the
room. Steam rose from the water on which floated rose petals and the scent of
eucalyptus oil assailed her senses as she walked in.
But nothing could dissipate her fear as
she stared at the water.
Dropping his towel, he faced her.
“Do you trust that I won’t let anything
happen to you?” he asked, his voice firm and solid.
She shook her head at what he was
asking. “Trusting you isn’t the issue here, Zach. I just don’t think…I can’t do
it.”
“You’re letting fear win. You’re
letting that asshole who hurt you win.”
A sliver of anger pierced her fear.
“And you’re psyching me into doing something I don’t want to do. Is that fair?”
she whispered.
“No. But I’d rather play a little dirty
than let you continue to live with the fear.”
He stepped into the water. It only came
halfway up his calf.
She glanced up at him in surprise and
he lifted one brow. “You think I’d put you in deep water the first time you
attempt this?”
“I didn’t say I was going to do this.”
His fingers tightened around hers. “Be
brave. Let me help you do this.”
She looked from him to the water. She
took a step closer and realized she could just about make out the bottom of the
bath. Her heart thumped against her ribs as she forced herself not to think
about what had happened to her the last time she’d been near a body of water.
But the memory of being submerged, of feeling her lungs burst with the lack of
oxygen as strong hands forced her under was too strong.
With a choked gasp she tried to free
herself, to get away from the terrifying feeling.
Zach leapt out of the water and caught
her to him. He kissed her temple, then buried his face in her hair and held her
tight as shudders raked her body.
“It’s okay. We don’t have to do this
right now if you don’t want to.”
She squeezed her eyes shut but the
scent of the bath remained in her nostrils. Holding onto him, she slowly opened
her eyes.
For almost ten years, she’d let fear
rule her life.
You’re
letting that asshole who hurt you win.
“Come on, baby. I’m sorry for pushing
you to do this.” He slid an arm around her waist and turned her towards the
showers at the opposite end of the room.
Her feet started to dig in. “Wait.”
He stilled but said nothing, grey eyes
boring into hers.
“I want to do this.”
“You sure?” Zach asked.
Bethany glanced at the water, her heart
still hammering,
then
slowly nodded. “I want to try.”
Zach’s smile held admiration that
strengthened her resolve. “Atta girl.” Lowering his head, he brushed his mouth
across hers then tugged her gently back to the edge of the bath.
“Promise me you won’t let me go,” she
blurted as fear threatened to take over again.
A look passed over his face, but it
disappeared before she could accurately decipher it.
“I promise,” he said simply, but there
was a touch of bleakness in his voice. Had she been less preoccupied with
conquering her fear and stepping closer to the edge of the bath, she’d have
wondered why.
But he was stepping into the
rose-petalled water and turning to face her. “Hold onto me. Get used to the
water around your feet before we take it further, okay?”
“Okay,” she murmured. She stepped into
the bath.
Her fingers convulsed around his biceps
as the sensation sent terror through her body. Desperately, she tried to
swallow the fear that wanted to take over.
“Calm down, baby. You’re doing really
well. Stop thinking about what the water can do to you and think about how it
feels on your skin. Describe it to me.”
She licked her lips and tried to form
the words. “It’s warm. Silky.” She looked down and saw one petal clinging to
her knee. The sight was so innocuous it eased her fear a little. “It smells
like heaven.”
“Good.” He stepped in front of her, his
back to the rest of the bath, blocking out most of the water. “Now try lowering
yourself into it. You know how deep it is. If it gets to be too much, we’ll get
out.”
Sliding her hands down from his nape,
she slowly lowered herself until her knees disappeared under the water. More
rose petals clung to her skin, their scent rising higher.
Zach followed suit, until he knelt in
front of her. Then, without letting go, he drew her body flush into his.
“You’re doing so well, baby.”
His encouragement peeled away another
layer of her fear. Meshing her hands with his, she slowly sank back until her
ass touched her heels. Water lapped between her legs and just above her waist.
They stayed like that for several
minutes before he slowly freed one hand. Reaching for a large foam sponge that
sat on the edge of the bath, he washed the massage oils from her body.
The fear hadn’t dissipated enough for
her to completely relax, but Bethany was no longer a prisoner of her terror.
At least she was coherent enough to
watch his face as he washed her.
“Why is this so important to you?” she
asked.
He kept quiet for so long she thought
he wouldn’t answer her. Then his lids lowered as he followed his hand down her
belly to her thighs. “When I was younger, swimming meant everything to me. It
was my means of escape.”
“Escape from what?”
“From the things I didn’t want to
face.” His gaze captured hers, and the jagged pain she saw in his eyes
fractured her breath. “Things I don’t want to talk about right now. Right now I
just want to take care of you.” There was a naked plea in his eyes she didn’t
have the heart to refuse.
And really, how could she demand
anything from him right this moment, when he’d single-handedly taken the fear
she’d lived with for so long and compressed it from the super-life sized
monster it’d been to something manageable?
She lifted the hand still meshed with
his up to her face and kissed the back of it.
His breath caught and he watched her
for several seconds before he resumed washing her.
“Remember what you said about taking my
fear away, Zach?” she asked softly.
He nodded.
“I aim to do the same for you.” She saw
the hard glint of denial in his eyes and shook her head. “No. You don’t get to
be the macho guy who takes on the world’s troubles but never tackles his own. I
don’t know how or even if I can help you but I’m going to try.”
“You assume too much, Beth. I don’t
take on the world’s troubles. Just yours. As for my own troubles,” he shrugged,
”I’ve learned to live with them.”
Before she could counter that, he
shifted round until he was behind her. In silence, he washed her back then
lifted her out of the water. He walked over the cushioned seat where a
beautiful tea set had been laid out.
Pouring the menthe tea, he handed her a
tiny cup. She cradled the bone china and watched him sip his own. Once again,
the message that he didn’t want to talk about himself came over loud and clear.
Frustration warred with the gratitude for what he’d done for her, and in the
end she bit back the need to push for the answers that were clamoring inside
her.
For now, at least.
Her gaze slid to the bath and back to
him. “Thank you.”
“You did it all, Bethany. You mastered
your own fear and triumphed.”
“We both know that’s not true. I would
never have been able to do it without your help.”
His smile was slow and devastating to
her senses. “In that case, I accept your thanks. You can show me your gratitude
later.”
She smiled in return. “I’m racking up
quite the tab there, Savage. You think I’ll ever be able to repay this debt?”
“I’m sure you will, Peaches. When the
time comes, you just need to put your back into it.” He winked and downed the
rest of his tea.
He waited until she finished her tea
before ringing a bell to summon their attendant.
“What next?” he asked, rising to unlock
the door.
“I have a mani-pedi.
Or
a waxing.
Or something.” Lethargy wound through her, the result of the
soothing tea and the fear-fueled adrenaline leaving her system.
“Stick to the mani-pedi or a facial.
You don’t need to be waxed.”
She couldn’t help the laughter that
bubbled up. “Is that your inner cave man talking.
”
He leaned down and kissed her, a
devilish gleam in his eyes, as a knock sounded on the door. “Yes, and I make no
apologies for him.” He pulled her robe more firmly around her and stepped back.
“I’m going to hit the pool. I’ll see you in an hour?”
She nodded and went with him to the door.
They parted ways at the end of the hallway, and watched him walk away, unable
to take her eyes off his stunning body.
Two women wearing tiny robes walked
past then turned to stare at Zach, their naked interest sending a spike of
jealousy through her. That he didn’t even turn to acknowledge their look in any
way made the fists she’d unconsciously clench relax a little, but the anxiety
wrapping itself around her heart refused to ease.
Well,
Bethany, this is no fun, is it?
The mocking voice couldn’t be silenced.
Nor could the certainty that she was falling for Zachary Savage be shaken.
The attendant gave a tiny cough,
jerking her out of her thoughts.
She sat through her grooming session,
barely aware of what was going on as the realization hit home with brutal
force.
This thing was no longer casual. And it
was going to be as messy as she’d predicted the moment she set eyes on Zach.
“Hey, you’re giving me the silent treatment
now?” Zach asked as they were driven back home.
He’d asked Philip to take the long
route home, and the gentle giant had obliged by driving them along the winding
roads that led up into the Atlas Mountains.
The sun was beginning to set and
Marrakech was spread out in all its red and gold glory beneath them.
“What’s wrong, baby?” Zach pressed, the
light pressure of his fingers on her chin tugging her gaze to his.
“It’s been a fantastic day. But it’s
also been a little bit overwhelming,” she answered truthfully. His compassion
and determination to help her overcome her fear amazed her. But the knowledge
that she was risking her heart on a man who was an enigma to her was what most
occupied her thoughts now.
Chris had not been an enigma. He’d been
a liar and a cheat. But he too had kept her in the dark, and the result had
been devastating.
She hadn’t known
what the man she’d been sharing her bed with had been doing until he’d dropped
the bomb at her feet.
Trouble was, she had a feeling any bomb
Zach dropped at her feet would be much more devastating than anything Chris had
delivered.
Her heart tripped and jolted back into
rhythm when he tilted her head back and looked deep into her eyes. That
intense, unwavering look made her breath catch.
God, she could so very easily make a
big-ass fool of herself over this man…if she hadn’t already.
“You don’t need to worry about anything
else right now, Peaches. I’ve got you. Understand?” he said.
Her nod was stupidly jerky, and her
eyes prickled with unshed tears. She was blinking them away when the SUV slowed
to a stop. She glanced out of the window and saw that they’d stopped on a ledge
just off the side of the road. Zach got out and helped her out.
“Why are we stopping?”
“Because you need to see this.”