HIGHER (The Indigo Lounge Series) (8 page)

He shrugged. “You mentioned it
when we were together. I haven’t forgotten a single thing of our time together,
baby. I just did some research and hit the jackpot.”

She had a feeling it was more
than luck on his part. For the first time since he crashed back into her life,
Bethany allowed herself to touch him.

His face, stubbled and sexy as
hell, felt warm beneath her fingers. Her hand drifted down his cheek and he
turned to kiss her fingertips.

“I’m scared that this won’t work
out. That to keep doing this is asking to be hurt even more.”

“Are you willing to let me go?”

Quaking inside and out, she shook
her head. “Not willingly. But—”

He placed a finger across her
lips. “No buts. I’m not going to let you go either. Which means the only way
forward is to fight through this.”

Philip returned to the car and
placed the take out on the front seat.

Zach kept her firmly in his lap
as the car rolled smoothly back into traffic. When they reached her apartment,
he opened the door and helped her out. The window slid down and Zach reached in
for her food. In silence, he passed it to her and gazed down at her.

Expecting him to push his way up
to her apartment the way he’d done on Saturday night, she was acutely
disappointed when he just said, “See you tomorrow.”

The stark emotions coursing
through her made her snap, “I don’t need a ride home every night, Zach.”

His smile was enigmatic enough to
cause tingles down her spine. She’d learned to her cost that when he smiled
like that, it meant something was up.

“I didn’t say anything about
rides home, Bethany.”

Before she could ask what he
meant, he was back in the car and the door was shutting.

Long after his car had
disappeared from view, she stood on the sidewalk, staring into the empty space.

Chapter Ten

Zach watched the LED lights count
up the floor numbers and tried to stem the unease swirling inside him as he
waited for the elevator rushing up from the ground floor.

The next hour would determine
whether what he’d planned would succeed or backfire horribly.

The past few days had been an
exercise in panic-management. He’d never known anything like it. Not even with
Farrah had indecision consumed him so completely.

After his conversation with
Bethany in his car, he’d nearly called off this meeting. He’d felt as if they’d
made progress; that she would give them a chance while he tried to get over the
hurdle of his erstwhile brother-in-law and the piece of paper that now stood
between him and the woman he was coming to realize he couldn’t live without.

The idea that he could lose
Bethany was what had made him keep this appointment. Come hell or high water,
he intended to hang on to her. This was merely another angle…

She may not like what was coming
next…hell, he was pretty sure she would have a thing or two to say about it…but
he was damned if he would let the chance slip by to keep her with him until
such time as he could come completely clean.

The elevator door pinged open.

He saw her first. Dark humor lit
within him as he silently mocked himself. Hell, when didn’t he see her first?
She was like a laser beam attuned to his radar. Wherever she was, his senses
zeroed in on her.

And today, as always, the sight
of her knocked the breath from his lungs. Jesus, but she was fucking gorgeous.

Her hair was tied away from her
face in a loose knot that caressed her nape. Her navy pinstripe jacket covered
a cute pink flowered shirt, and her skirt ended at her knee, leaving her
knock-out legs exposed. Delicate studs adorned her ears and a single pearl
string necklace rested against her collarbone.

She looked prim and proper.

He wanted to mess her up. Tousle
her well and good, leave her glossy mouth and other equally captivating parts
of her, used and bruised.

He barely managed to tear his
eyes away when Sheena Malcolm stepped out first, followed by Gary Wright.

He hurried through the handshakes
and glanced back at Bethany.

Shock, surprise, then uncertainty
streaked across her face. Before hurt and anger flashed through her eyes.

His blood thrummed at the
anticipation of fireworks even as he wondered whether he’d chosen the right
path.

“Mr Savage, this is Bethany
Green, our very talented assistant,” Sheena said.

Zach stepped forward. “Miss
Green. Very pleased to meet you.”

Bethany remained frozen against
the elevator wall, her throat working as she watched him. He kept himself
firmly in the elevator entrance to prevent her bolting. And he could see in her
eyes that she was considering it.

He held out his hand and cocked
an eyebrow.

Her eyes flashed as she glanced
down at his hand and back at him. When the silence threatened to strayed into
awkward territory, she finally stepped forward.

“Mr Savage. It’s an
honor
to meet you, I’m sure.”

The bite in the word made his
lips twitch but the hurt and wariness in her eyes didn’t prolong the humor.
Bethany wouldn’t take this situation lying down. And he had to play his cards
right.

But the moment her hand slid into
his, the belief that he was doing the right thing reasserted itself. He was not
willing to live without her.

He held her hand for as long as
it was appropriate without raising questions from the two Neon executives
behind him. Then he reluctantly let her go.

Jeff, who’d flown in that morning
from San Francisco, was waiting in the newly set up meeting room. Introductions
were made and coffee served.

Zach made sure Bethany was seated
first before he took the seat next to her. He caught her hastily indrawn breath
as he quickly squeezed her bare thigh under the table.

She began to ravage her lower lip
with her teeth and heat surged into his groin faster than he could process the
reaction.

God, please. Soon
. He was dying of blue balls.

Sheena Malcolm cleared her throat
and smiled a brittle smile from across the table.

“Mr Savage, Gary and I can’t
express our appreciation at being given this opportunity to spotlight your
company. I will be your first point of contact on anything to do with the
Indigo Lounge, of course, but Gary and I—”

Zach forced himself to
concentrate on the meeting and not on the urge to flatten Bethany to the
nearest surface and fuck her until the world stopped turning.

“You made a PR bid for the Indigo
Lounge last year, did you not?”

Sheena nodded eagerly. “Yes, but
we’ve had even more exciting ideas about profiling your company since then, and
like we mentioned yesterday, we have a portfolio of clients who would be
perfect for your New York events. The package we’ve put together is edgy and
exciting—”

He felt Bethany tense next to him
and his neck grew hotter. Time to bring this thing to an end before she
exploded. “Who spearheaded your initial research last year?”

Bethany tensed further. Again he
slipped his hand onto her thigh. She froze but didn’t move away. Zach chose to
take it as a good sign even though her face was set in a quietly furious look.

He’d have his work cut out to win
brownie points after this stunt. But he was well up to the task. His hand slid
higher, the need to connect with her clawing through his gut.

She clamped her thighs shut, stalling
his upward movement but also imprisoning his hand against her warm flesh. He
barely managed to suppress a smile.

Sheena exchanged a glance with
her partner before her gaze moved to Bethany. “Well, Bethany was tasked with
digging up the pertinent information about your company but putting the package
together was a group effort.”

“If I decide to go ahead with
Neon, I’d like Miss Green to take point, guided by you two, of course. But
before I make a decision I’d like to hear about the sort of New York clients
you intend to attract and what fresh ideas you can bring to the table
entertainment wise.”

“Of course. We can do that,”
Sheena replied quickly, hiding her surprise at his directive.

Zach nodded to Jeff, who picked
up the remote on the table and aimed it at the screen on the far wall. It
flickered to life, revealing the familiar indigo jet with the custom trim.
“This is the latest IL plane. It arrived two weeks ahead of schedule so we’re
planning an extra IL trip before the scheduled trips commence.”

Zach continued. “We already have
a waiting list to fill the slot if needs be, but I’d like to give Neon the
opportunity to stage this event. You have three days to put a package
together—”

“Three
days
?” Bethany snapped, her eyes firing livid blue flames in his
direction. “Are you serious?”

Jeff’s eyes widened. Sheena’s
mouth dropped open. Gary Wright looked downright displeased. Zach didn’t give a
damn about any of them. All he cared about was the fact that Bethany was
engaging with him. “

“Is that a problem, Miss Green?”
He raised an eyebrow and her blue eyes flashed. She looked as if she was
contemplating tackling him right there and then.

His blood thrummed faster with
anticipation. She read his reaction he didn’t bother to hide and her nostrils
flared.

Her mouth thinned into a prim
line and her eyes slid from his. “Well, normally three days is
ridiculously
short notice but I’m sure
we can come up with something more than suitable for your launch.”

Gary, who’d been poised to
intervene, relaxed. “Shall we come up with an itinerary for the trip or will
your office provide us with one?”

“I concede Miss Green’s point
that this is somewhat short notice. Neon can take care of the first two stops
and my people will arrange something else for the last two. Call it a
collaboration. Also for the sake of clarity, Neon’s guests will only be on
board for the first two stops. After which they will be expected to disembark.”

Gary frowned. “I’m not sure how
our clients will take an abbreviated tour, Mr Savage.”

Zach narrowed his eyes. “It’s
your job to sell it to them. Or I’m happy to pass the whole thing to my
people?”

Sheena hastily shook her head,
shooting her partner an evil glare. “That will not be necessary. We’ll make
this work.”

“Miss Green? Do you think you can
make it work, too?”

Her eyes met his. Electricity
zapped through him at the heaven and hell he glimpsed in her eyes. Her mouth
compressed in further mutiny and he grazed his thumb across the top of her
thigh.

Her tiny jerk sent a pulse of
heat and delight through him.

“Yes,” she replied huskily. “We
can make it work.”

“Great.”

Her bosses breathed a sigh of
relief and everyone started to relax.

Jeff grabbed the remote again and
pressed another button. “The next slides show you the full extent of the
various compartments of the plane—”

“Jeff, I’ll leave you to show the
slide to Sheena and Gary. I want to speak to Miss Green in private, if you
don’t mind?” He raised a cursory eyebrow at the rest of the table and rose.

Speculation quickly followed
surprise on the faces of the occupants around the meeting table.

He ignored the looks and stood,
staring down at Bethany’s bent head. He was prepared to drag her out if need
be. As if she heard his thoughts, her head snapped up.

“Miss Green?”

“Sure. Excuse me, please.” Her
smile was stiff as she stood and followed him out of the room.

He managed to stop himself
reaching for her until they were in the hallway. Then his hands closed over
that trim waist and half carried her into his living room.

“Zach! What the hell…put me
down.” Her voice was a fierce, husky, whispered demand, but he heard the catch
nevertheless.

He kicked the large door shut
behind him, set her on her feet, and gave her a chance to face him before he
propelled her backward into the wall.

“No!” she protested.

“Yes. Hell, yes.”

Starved and desperate for her, he
slanted his mouth over hers, taking full and merciless advantage of her shocked
gasp.

His tongue surged against hers,
demanding and achieving entry. Wet and erotic, her tongue met his in a series of
bold flicks that told him she hadn’t forgotten how he liked to be kissed. He
surged deeper, eager to drown in her taste and touch.

He pressed closer, imprinting his
body on hers as his craving escalated. His cock found the cradle of her hips,
that sweet curve he was so desperate to rediscover.

She whimpered and wriggled
against his hold. His hands tightened, holding her still as he rocked his
erection deeper into her pelvis. Once he was satisfied she could feel him, all
of him, he let go of her waist and slid his hands upwards.

Her full, covered breasts filled
his hands, her nipples tight buds against his seeking thumbs. He gorged on her
mouth until the need to breathe caused stars to dance behind his closed
eyelids. Even then, he would gladly have suffocated in the kiss if the hands
clamped in his hair hadn’t pulled desperately.

Easy
…he cautioned himself. For now.

He broke the connection and
stared down at her. Wide blue eyes locked on his as she sucked in air. His gaze
dropped from her bruised lips to her heaving chest. She breathed in and her
gorgeous breasts filled his hands once more.

He groaned as his cock stiffened
to stone.

“You feel so fucking lush,
Peaches. And so damned fuckable in that prim suit.” A tremor rocked through him
as he continued to deny the forceful urge to rip her clothes off and do what he
desperately yearned to do. “Jesus, baby, I want to fuck you so damn badly.”

A long sigh shuddered out of her
as he mercilessly kissed his way down her throat and barely resisted the urge
to bite her supple, silky skin. He’d raised enough questions for one day.
Although he personally didn’t care who knew, he cared too much about Bethany to
leave her to explain a giant hickey on her neck to her bosses.

But there were other, equally
enthralling parts of her body he could explore.

Sliding his hand beneath her
skirt, he touched her between her legs. Hot dampness met his fingers. Tugging
aside her panties, he plunged one finger into her tight heat, groaning deeper
when her flesh closed greedily over his knuckle.

Her shocked cry made him grin.

“You naughty girl. Did you get
wet imagining me having you here like this?” he crooned in her ear.

She gave a jerky shake of her
head. “Uhhn...No.”

He laughed. “Well, something got
you wet and hot. So what was it?”

“I don’t…let me go, Zach.”

He leaned even closer. “No way.”

Her throat moved in a convulsive
swallow. “Why? Why are you doing this?”

“Because I know what you’re
thinking.”

“No. Trust me, you have no clue
what I’m thinking.”

“Yes, I do. You have a plan.
You’ve made up your mind about what happens next. But you forget, Bethany. I’m
a much better negotiator than you could ever be. And for me, there’s only one
way this ends. You. Becoming mine. In every way.”

“So you planned this. All of it,”
she accused, her voice breaking as he pushed deeper inside her. “You met with
Sheena and Gary yesterday, didn’t you? That’s why they were acting so weird at
work.”

“Yes.” He may have had some
doubts before about what he was doing. But now he’d kissed her again, now her
sweet, wet pussy pulsed around his finger, he regretted nothing.

“Why?”

“Access.”