This time his kiss was savage, dominating. Gabriel’s kisses had always been affectionate, never crossing the line, and Christian’s, well, his had been urgent and passionate before now.
But this? This was something entirely different. His hands tangled in her hair, holding her securely in place while he devoured her mouth. She gripped his shoulders, unable to contain the moans leaving her throat.
“Screw it.” He tugged the shirt over her head, pressing his body to her. She pushed at his boxer briefs, desperate for him be inside of her. “I’ve condoms.” At his touch a compartment in the headboard slid open, an opened box of condoms prominently displayed.
Plunging her hand inside the box, she snagged the one first one and handed it to him. “Put it on.”
Foil tore, the rest of their clothes thrown to the floor. The head of his penis at entrance of her sex, his hands on her hips and his mouth...tongue plunging between her lips.
Another tap on the door. “We’re starting our descent, sir. You and Ms. Ambrose should move to a seat and buckle up.”
Her eyes flew open.
“Bloody f**king hell.” He rolled off of her, panting. Grabbing her hand, he brought it to his lips, then placed it over the tattoo on his chest. His heart raced beneath her palm, keeping time with hers. “Not frustrated with you, love.” After a couple of minutes, he left the bed, rummaged around the room and grabbed his boxer briefs.
She sat up, hair falling around her bare shoulders and down her back. “I guess they knew what we were doing back here, huh?”
“Don’t worry. My crew is compensated not to say anything. Trust me, they’ve seen and heard worse,” he said, buttoning the fly of his jeans. He passed her the dress she’d carefully draped over a chair.
Now that she wasn’t flat on her back in bed with him, Zoe could think again. And she was thinking that he was sounding like he did this all the time. The opened box of condoms was a dead giveaway. It was humiliating to be put in the same category as all the women before her. Should she feel special because he needed her longer than a single night?
But no matter how mad she was at him, it wasn’t his fault. He hadn’t made her do anything, only taking what she freely offered. What she had allowed.
They finished dressing in silence, and moved to the front of the plane. Sitting in her former seat, she looked around the interior as Christian spoke in low tones to the co-pilot. A soccer game still played on the television. Her purse still sat on the floor and his phone was still in his hand. Everything was as it had been. As if they hadn’t been in a bedroom, kissing, touching and stroking one another.
The stewardess, a beautiful woman with straight black hair and liquid brown eyes, placed a hand on Christian’s shoulder, letting it linger as she bent down to ask him a question. He smiled at her, eyes crinkling.
Zoe’s heart jumped in her throat. They were lovers. Had to be, given the way the woman was touching him. After the co-pilot and stewardess left, Christian’s blue eyes found hers. He smiled, the same smile he gave every woman.
She forced a neutral expression on her face. It was time to have the ultimate talk with him. “We need to clearly define the boundaries our relationship.”
Christian placed his phone on the table between them. Her look of embarrassed confusion had given way to fury. He suspected that if he touched her, she’d explode. To stop himself from doing exactly that, he clenched the armrests.
“I’m all ears.”
Frowning, she crossed her arms. “What happened shouldn’t have and it won’t again. I’ll help you for the rest of my stay, but no more kissing or touching or-or anything else.”
Convinced he’d misunderstood Zoe, he twisted his seat around to fully face her. “Are you saying you didn’t enjoy what we did?”
Twin blooms of pink formed on her cheeks. “I liked it just fine, but this won’t work. It can’t work. Despite what happened between us, I don’t do this kind of thing. Not like you.”
Just fine? She liked it just fine? Zoe really knew how to kick a man in the balls. He was tired of her ‘fines’. Of waiting patiently for her to figure out what the hell she wanted.
“I’m not apologizing for being who I am, for having fun, or for being in my twenties. Not for a damn thing.”
A shaky breath left her as the plane bounced once and then slowed. “I’m not asking you to change who you are or say you’re sorry. I’m telling you who I am. I want monogamy and meaningful relationships.”
That was her problem: she didn’t think he could be faithful? However the media painted him, when he decided to be monogamous and in a one-on-one type of relationship, he’d damn sure not have any problems accomplishing the feat. He’d done it before, but everyone, including Zoe, seemed to forget that part of his past.
All of which had absolutely nothing to do with them being together while in Vegas. It wasn’t as if he planned on using and discarding her. Or never talking to her again. They had the same agent for God’s sake.
He leaned forward, staring directly into her pretty eyes. “What are you asking of me?”
“Nothing…I can’t let my heart get broken again, not by you.” Her lower lip trembled. “I don’t think I’d be able to recover this...from it.”
Falling back in his seat, he twisted the platinum band around his forefinger with his thumb. For some reason he’d chosen to wear it today after finding it in the bottom of his shaving case. There used to be two of them, his good luck charms when he’d first started out. He’d worn them to every audition that he’d gotten a call-back on. Only once had they failed him.
Zoe pulled her phone out of her purse, her lips compressed tightly.
Make that twice. He took the ring off and shoved it into his pocket. “I thought breaking up with your ex was a good thing.”
“I wasn’t referring to Gabriel.”
“Who then?”
“A stupid boy pretending to be a man made promises he didn’t keep.”
“His actions still control your life?”
“I—he…” Her mouth snapped shut.
Tension shimmered between them, hanging like a heavy curtain as her mouth snapped shut. She looked as though she had revealed more than she wanted, and now he had to know who this man was. A man that eclipsed her ex-fiancé and hurt her.
He had a sudden urge to track the guy down and beat the hell out of him. “Tell me.”