She pulled his trousers and his shorts down and he sprang free.
"Oh, my..."
But he hadn't heard her, or if he did, he showed no response except to push her gently back on the bed and kiss her hard on the lips. He leaned on one arm, spread himself alongside her and caressed her thigh. Her skin vibrated beneath his touch. She'd die if he didn't enter her soon.
"Now," she breathed, but he sat up and fumbled in the pocket of his trousers.
"Condom," he said through ragged breaths.
He tore open the packet and she watched as he stretched the condom over his length. His very long length. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She was badly out of practice and she wasn't sure her body was built for a man like Zack.
"Um, maybe we should take this slow..."
His response was to do something amazing with his tongue on her inner thigh, and she closed her eyes. She felt him move above her. Okay, it might fit if she sort of moved to the left a little...
Zack dipped inside her.
"Oh!"
He slipped all the way in. Okay, so he fit perfectly. Who'd have guessed?
That was her last coherent thought as she rose to meet him. He set a slow, steady rhythm that drove her wild. She wanted more. Needed it. She picked up the pace and he groaned deep in his chest. His fingers brought her close to the edge and then he sucked her nipple. Oh my! His body shuddered above her and his primal growl echoed through her apartment. It was enough to send her plunging down with him into an abyss of bliss.
Spent, he lay half on top of her, half beside her, his hand cupping her left breast. His eyes closed and his breathing deepened. He was asleep. Or so she thought.
She smiled to herself and snuggled into his warm body.
But he moved away and sat up.
"I have to go." He picked up his shirt. "I've got a long day tomorrow."
"You're leaving?" She couldn't believe it. Had she done something wrong? "Stay. I'm up for round two if you are." She touched his arm and he leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"I have to go."
She watched him dress, understanding dawning. She'd been right all along—he'd got what he wanted, now he was leaving before it became too serious. Sex. That's all this had been to him. Another notch on his belt. An experiment to see if he could bed the good girl.
He kissed her goodbye and straightened. But just as he turned to leave, he sighed deeply and leaned over her again. He caught her face between his hands and caressed her cheeks.
"Annie, Baby, don't look at me like that. I can't stay. We shouldn't have..."
"Fine. Go." She swatted his hands away.
"Annie—"
"Just go."
He sighed. "I'm sorry. I'll call you."
She shrugged, trying to appear unconcerned when her heart felt like it had shattered. Their love making had been beautiful, amazing, and she'd thought that it had meant more to him than just sex. It had to her. But now that it was over he just wanted to get out before he got sucked into something he didn't want—a relationship.
She wasn't surprised, just disappointed. She'd really hoped he might be interested in her, want her in his life.
She should've known better.
He kissed her again but she didn't respond.
"You don't have to stay," she said through gritted teeth. "It's not like this meant anything."
Zack's face turned to ash. He nodded slowly. "Yeah. Right." Without a second glance, he left.
CHAPTER 12
Zack drove home on auto-pilot. The evening had gone from perfect to amazing to disastrous. And he only had himself to blame. He didn't want to leave Annie's place but he had to. He would hurt her feelings if he stayed—more than he would by leaving. Staying would only give her the wrong impression and he didn't want to do that—he wasn't after a relationship so no point letting her think he was, even for one second. Cruel to be kind.
Damn it, if only he'd kept his libido in check nothing would've changed between them. They'd still be friends. On the other hand, he wouldn't swap tonight for a thousand fast cars.
He thumped the steering wheel with his fist as he arrived home. For the first time since he'd bought it, he dreaded the mansion's emptiness.
He thought about Annie, alone in her apartment. He wondered if she would still hate him in the morning. He hoped not. He really could use a good friend like her in his life. Maybe she'd be fine when she thought it through and remembered that it could never work between them. She'd said it herself—he wasn't her type. Maybe she'd be lying in bed now, relieved that he'd left so she didn't have to kick him out or tell him she wasn't interested in dating a guy like him.
Maybe.
For the first time in a long time he stopped at the photo of his family on the mantelpiece, taken twenty years ago. Everyone smiled back at the camera. His parents had their arms around each other. It was the perfect shot of a not so perfect family. He turned the photo face down. He didn't want to be reminded of how their happiness had turned sour. Not now. Not when he could still taste Annie on his lips and feel her breath on his skin.
***
Zack woke up the next morning feeling flat. He forced himself to go to work, but he couldn't concentrate. The figures on the financial statements blurred and he tossed them aside. Phone calls took his attention off Annie and her very delicious body for a while although he often couldn't recall the details of the conversations. Did he buy one thousand shares or ten thousand?
He glanced around his office, furnished in a modernist style by his personal assistant. Sleek glass and polished wood surfaces, tall bookcases and a long desk. Boring. He just didn't like it anymore, didn't want to be there.
He wouldn't allow himself to think about where he wanted to be at that moment.
By lunch time, he'd decided he needed to do something, get out of the office. But go where? Maybe a bike ride...
As he undid his tie and top button of his shirt, Bob called.
"Zack, I need you. McCallum and Horton need you. Dug-E's slipping through our fingers and I've crunched some numbers. If we don't sign him..." Bob let the sentence dangle.
Zack didn't need it spelled out. "You want me to do something with Annie?"
"Yeah. Something drastic."
"Are you sure this Dug-E kid won't sign with you if she was being herself? Because I don't see anything wrong with the way she is." Nothing wrong at all.
"Me either but this kid hates people who conform. He needs excitement." Bob sighed. "Please, Zack, I'm begging you. Take Annie out, make an impact. Do something."
Zack closed his eyes. He knew what he wanted to do but he couldn't do it. Not with Annie. But he would have to see her again. For Bob.