Authors: Isabella Ashe
He'd always known what he wanted in a woman -- someone beautiful, worldly, cool, and logical. Eve had been all those things. He was attracted to her because she
wasn't clingy, flighty, or overly emotional like some women. With Eve, there were no scenes or long, dull discussions about the state of their relationship. He'd thought they were a perfect match. Unfortunately, he had soon discovered her calculating and manipulative side.
Now he closed his eyes and imagined that he was in his own house, with his wife and children in another room. What would they be like? He kept seeing Bryony's
face, surrounded by a cloud of red-gold
hair. He shook his head, trying to knock the vision out of his head. His desire for her was clouding his judgment.
The past few days, he'd developed a grudging respect for Bryony. Maybe he'd even come to care for her. She got under his skin in a way no woman had done in a very long time. He wanted her so badly that his desire was an ever-present taste in his mouth, a constant buzz in his head. But he certainly didn't love her.
Though he hadn't known Bryony very long, Zach instinctively understood that she wouldn't settle for less. For that reason, he knew he shouldn't take advantage of her, no matter how much his body ached to feel her under him. No matter how deeply the morning's kiss had affected him.
He hadn't meant to kiss her. He'd succumbed to an impulse, and now he regretted it. He'd seen the questions in her eyes over dinner, and he hadn't known how to answer them. Now he groaned hoarsely and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He'd been sifting through the papers and articles in his briefcase, but he couldn't concentrate any longer. He opened the door to his room and stepped out, intent on getting some fresh air.
Bryony felt Zach behind her before she saw him. She waited until he spoke his name softly before she turned to face him. "Do you mind if I join you?" he asked.
"No, of course not." She turned away again and lifted her head to gaze at the sky again. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. His presence made her pulse quicken and her breath catch in her throat.
"What do you see up there?" Zach asked. "You're looking at the stars with such intensity."
"History," she answered.
"History? What do you mean?"
"I'm thinking about all the human beings who have looked up at these stars across the centuries," she explained. "Homer. Cleopatra. King Arthur. Shakespeare.
All the great leaders and poets.
And now us, watching the exact same stars.
It never ceases to amaze me."
Zach tilted his head to one side, considering. "How about Galileo and Copernicus? They looked up at the stars and figured out things no one had known before."
Bryony turned and studied him, narrowing her eyes. She shook her head slowly. "What?" he asked.
"It's just -- we look at the world through such different eyes. What do you see up there?"
Zach lifted his head and squinted at the sky through thick, sooty lashes. "Immense, incredibly hot balls of gases, millions of miles away."
"See, that's the difference. Don't you see anything romantic about the stars?"
"Romantic? No, I don't think so. Astronomy is fascinating, definitely, but not romantic."
Bryony sighed. "You're hopeless."
"Really?"
Zach moved closer and brushed a strand of her
copper
y
hair behind one small, shell-shaped ear. The brief touch made Bryony shiver with desire. "Maybe you can teach me."
"I don't think so," she said. "Romance is in the soul. It's not something you can learn."
"Won't you even give me a chance?" Zach asked.
Bryony shook her head. "You're too much a scientist at heart. I'm afraid you don't have a romantic bone in your body."
"Oh, I don't know about that," he whispered. "Let me prove you wrong." Before Bryony could take another breath, his mouth covered hers.
His lips were warm and soft as he moved them over hers with surprising gentleness, coaxing and caressing until she relented and kissed him back. It was the most delicious sensation Bryony had ever experienced. Her body sang with her own eager response. Pleasure burned through her at the sweet tenderness of the kiss.
Then he broke it off, shattering the spell. Bryony couldn't contain a small moan of disappointment. Zach interpreted the sound as displeasure and moved swiftly away. He brushed his hand over his face, wincing. "I'm sorry. I wasn't going to let that happen again, not after this morning."
"You don't have to apologize," Bryony said. She was dismayed at Zach's reaction to their kiss. He seemed sorry he'd ever touched her. She wanted desperately to feel his mouth on hers again.
"I didn't mean to --
to
take advantage of the situation," Zach said. In the glow of the porch light his tanned skin was burnished gold. His rugged face was twisted with unhappiness, his eyes darker than the night sky.
Bryony couldn't stand to see him so miserable. Before she could lose her courage, she took a step toward him. She stood on tiptoe and brought her lips to his, brushing them with a feather-light touch. Her heart thudded loudly in her chest at her own boldness.
Zach's arms twined instinctively around her, and she felt his palm bracing the small of her back. He leaned down into the kiss, possessing her mouth with a fierce hunger. Bryony wound her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his.
She felt her breasts brush against the muscles of his chest and almost gasped at the spiral of desire building inside her. Zach growled deep in his throat and pulled her closer, until her soft curves melded with his lean, muscular frame.
His mouth hardened against hers, and Bryony's lips parted involuntarily. His tongue traced the fullness of her mouth, tasting her, claiming her. She sighed happily, savoring his touch and the pressure of his hands as they stroked her spine. He nibbled gently on her lips and a pulse of pleasure coursed through her. She didn't want the kiss to end, not ever. She relaxed into his arms.
Zach felt her surrender and tightened his grip. Her body was soft and pliant, her lips warm and tender against his. Her forwardness in starting the kiss had both startled and aroused him. Now he burned with a flame no kisses could quench. His mouth hardened against hers. His kiss grew more urgent and demanding as he explored the recesses of her mouth. Her eager response only fueled the flame.
His hands slid down her spine to caress her backside and draw her closer, until her firm breasts flattened against his chest and her hips fitted into his. Bryony gasped as she felt the evidence of his arousal press against her.
Zach's slow, ardent kisses had drugged her beyond thinking. Now, suddenly, she realized what they were doing. Her body stiffened and she tried to step back, but he had
trapped her against the railing. She could hardly bear to tear her lips from his. "Zach," she whispered into his mouth.
"Bryony." Her name emerged from his lips like a prayer. His hands slid from her rounded bottom to her slender waist as he flattened himself against her. Bryony almost cried out at the lazy, molten pleasure his movement inspired. She ached for more. She wanted to feel his kisses trailing over her neck, her breasts,
her
stomach. She wanted more than that -- she needed all of him.
At the same time, her mind was crying out for her to stop before things went too far. She wouldn't be another of Zachary Callahan's playthings. No matter how good his hands felt on her body, she wouldn't allow him to use her. "Zach," she said again, more sharply. She wriggled in his grasp and pulled her lips from his. "Zach, I don't think we should get carried away."
"Why not?" he groaned, but he released her.
Bryony let out a long, quivering breath and fought to regain her composure. Her lips were still wet and glistening from his kisses. "I just don't think it's a good idea," she said, her voice shaking a little. "The situation is, well, complicated enough already, don't you think?"
"No, damn it. I like you, Bryony. I think you like me back. There's something special between us, something rare. Isn't that enough?" Even as he said the words, he knew her answer.
Bryony bit her lower lip unhappily and shook her head. She brushed a wayward curl out of her face with a worried gesture that tore at Zach's heart. "No," she said so softly he could barely hear her. "It's not enough. Not for me."
"All right," he said, his voice tight. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
Her eyes widened with alarm. "Don't apologize," she said. "It wasn't your fault. I was just as much to blame. Maybe more." She remembered how she had started the second kiss and felt the blood rush to her cheeks. "Can't we say it was a mutual mistake, and try to forget what happened tonight?"
"I won't be able to forget it," Zach said. "But I won't trouble you with my advances, if that's what you prefer."
"It's the best thing," Bryony said. "Thank you, Zach."
"For what?"
"For --
for
understanding. For agreeing we should keep our relationship . . . ." She faltered, searching for the right word.
"Platonic?" His tone was cold and arrogant again, the arch of his eyebrows ironic.
"Well, yes," Bryony said. "Considering who you are, and who I am, it's only sensible. Unless, of course --"
"Unless what?"
"Unless," she said, her mouth quirking into a mischievous smile, "you want to admit that I'm winning the bet."
He laughed wryly, shaking his head. "I want you, Bryony. You know that. If you change your mind and decide the feeling's mutual, I won't object. But whatever you think of me, I'm not the sort of man who'd lie to get a woman in bed. I won't say I'm falling in love you when it isn't true."
"I know that," Bryony said, over the lump in her throat. She cast down her eyes to hide her reaction to his words. "That's why I said what I did just now." She looked up and managed a tremulous smile. "So I guess that settles it. Friends?"
"Friends," Zach said, though Bryony caught a trace of reluctance in his answer.
"Good." She should have been pleased, but for some reason she felt like crying. There was a long moment of less-than-comfortable silence. "Well," she said at last, and then cleared her throat. The lump was still there. "I guess I'll go to bed now."
Zach was staring out at the ocean. Despite his grim expression, he was still so handsome that Bryony's heart skipped a beat. She could almost feel his mouth covering hers. "Goodnight," he said.
"Goodnight." She slipped inside before she could change her mind. It was for the best. She knew she'd made the right decision. She could never be intimate with a man who didn't care for her. So why did it hurt so much to think that Zach would never hold her again?
"Mr. Betz! Mr. Betz! Would you like to sign a petition to save Kinney's Lagoon?"
The plump, bearded man turned at the sound of her voice. "Why, Bryony Lowell. Where have you been keeping yourself the past few months?" He took the clipboard she offered and scanned the text. "I haven't seen you in ages."
"Between Heart's Desire and the Chamber of Commerce, I've been so busy," she said. "I've meant to stop by the high school and say hello, but I haven't had the chance. But I did hear about your promotion to assistant principal. Congratulations."
"Thank you." The little man's chipmunk cheeks glowed pink with pleasure. "Oh, Allison called last weekend. She said she had a letter from you last week and she'll write back soon."
"I can't wait to hear from her," Bryony said. "I'll never be able to thank her enough for letting me buy Heart's Desire."
Mr. Betz laughed. "Selling the shop to you was the smartest thing she ever did, business-wise. It never made a penny before you took over. Now I hear you're doing very well for yourself."
Bryony nodded, blushing a little at the praise. "I've been lucky," she said, ducking her head.
"Don't be so modest. You've always had a good head for business."
"I had a terrific economics teacher," she said, and Mr. Betz grinned like a proud father. "How's little Emily, by the way?"
"Allison says she's doing great. She'll turn two next month, you know. I'm the happiest grandfather on earth." He turned his attention back to the petition. "How's the campaign for the lagoon?"
"Everyone I've asked today has signed it," Bryony said, pointing out the long list of signatures. "But I don't know if it will make any difference," she added with a sigh.
"Can't hurt to try," Mr. Betz said, signing the petition and handing it back. "Keep up the good work, Bryony. And be sure to drop by the school sometime."
"Absolutely," she called after him as he hurried down the street. When he'd gone, her shoulders slumped a little. It had been a long day. Kasey was minding the shop while Bryony made her rounds with the petition, but her friend had to leave by two o'clock for her other part-time job, as a typesetter at the
Cypress Point Gazette
.
Now Bryony stood under the awning outside the town's only grocery store, flagging down local shoppers. Another hour and she would have to give up for the afternoon. To top it all off, the day was dark and chilly. Ominous gray clouds rolled in from the ocean, threatening rain.