Oh.
She should be cheering, should be so glad that he’d just spelled things out so clearly. But even though he’d just given her precisely what she’d always said she wanted, his words felt like a knife shoved straight through her chest...as if some stupid, reckless part of her heart had secretly been wishing he would fall in love with her.
Even though she wouldn’t have trusted his professions of love if they had come.
It was yet another reason she should have been walking away from him, hauling Atlas out of the stadium, getting both of them away from the man who was more potent than any she’d ever known.
Only, she’d lost hold of her self-control at the first brush of his mouth against hers, and knowing how good it felt to have his body pressed into hers, warm and solid, had her desperate for another taste. A longer one this time, with no barriers between them, and no one and nothing interrupting the natural flow of their passion.
But at the same time that she could feel herself sinking deeper beneath the sensual spell he wound around her, Heather had run her life for too long to let a man—especially one as confident and charming as Zach Sullivan—lead her down a dark path.
If she were going to head into the darkness, she’d go of her own free will, damn it.
“Just sex,” she said in a steady voice. Wanting to be absolutely sure she was clear with him—and herself, too—she added, “That’s all this is ever going to be.”
A flash of purely male victory moved through his eyes as he immediately threaded his fingers into hers and tugged her closer.
“Kiss me to seal the deal.”
Her breath came even faster at his softly spoken command. She hadn’t realized how much she craved Zach’s brand of sensual dominance until today. She’d loved the way he’d stolen the kiss from her, had been beyond excited by the sinful feeling of wantonness as he took what he wanted from her up against the wall. And now, even as she should have been annoyed at his demand that she kiss him to finalize their arrangement, she was more turned on than she’d ever been.
She knew what he expected her to do—either give him a peck on the lips out of annoyance or let him control the kiss again.
But now that she’d made the decision to enjoy being physical with Zach, she not only wasn’t going to deny herself whatever pleasures were in store...she was also going to make darn sure he realized he wasn’t any less affected by her than she was by him.
This time she was the one reaching for his jaw, feathering out her fingers across the super-sexy dusting of stubble that shadowed his tanned skin. Desire flared in his eyes as she moved onto her tippy-toes to get closer. She slid her hand into his hair and pulled his face down to hers.
Her lips touched his a split-second before he growled and slammed his mouth against hers. It was the perfect kiss to seal the deal for their newly negotiated affair, a wonderful predictor for the incredibly passionate, no-holds-barred sex they were going to have with each other.
Nothing more.
* * *
Zach had never lost control with a woman before. Not even close.
Not until Heather.
When they both finally came up for air with the puppy squirming between them, he couldn’t bear the thought of letting her go. Giving Cuddles room to breathe while still holding her close, he asked, “Do you need anything from your place for Atlas?”
Her beautiful eyes were hazy with pleasure from their kiss as she blinked up at him and nodded.
He wanted her in his bed. It was where she belonged, where he’d needed her from the first second he set eyes on her curves as she coaxed his puppy out of the bushes at his garage.
Lord, he couldn’t wait to hear more of those little gasps of pleasure she’d been making when he’d been kissing her...and to watch her expression as she came apart beneath him.
Desperation to get her naked ASAP had him taking her hand in his, her dog’s leash in his other hand and pulling all four of them out toward the parking lot.
“I’ll follow you over to your place and help you grab what you need.”
He felt her hand stiffen in his. “It’s just one night, Zach. We’re not moving in with you. It’s just going to be sex,” she reminded him in a firm voice.
She was too firm. Too controlled, even after their second kiss.
Oh yes, he was going to enjoy making her lose control, was going to make that his sole purpose for the foreseeable future, in fact.
Atlas’s ears had perked up as if he’d just realized he was going to get to spend the night with his best friend. The Great Dane nuzzled the puppy and Zach grinned. Heather could fight the pull between them all she wanted, but he was counting on her having a hell of a time breaking up their dogs.
Using the dogs to keep her close to him wasn’t playing fair.
Then again, when had a Sullivan ever played by the rules?
Chapter Fifteen
Heather worked to slow down the overly fast pounding of her heart. Now, more than ever, there shouldn’t be anything to be nervous about. Not after she and Zach had just clearly laid out the terms of their sex-only relationship.
And yet, now that the deal had been made, she was still more than a little amazed to find herself in his bedroom. Back at the baseball stadium, she’d thought she knew what she was getting herself into.
She suddenly realized how far from the truth that really was.
Zach Sullivan was a force of nature. Not just because of his stunning male good looks, but because of his strong, yet sweet, personality. The first time she’d ever looked at him, of course she’d thought of sex. There wasn’t a woman alive who wouldn’t, not with a face and body like his.
Oh, but if he knew how nervous she was, she could only imagine what he’d do. Laugh at her, probably. Tease her mercilessly from here on out. And consider himself the victor.
That knowledge was what had her resorting to the act she’d perfected as a seventeen-year-old, the one that said she didn’t care what anyone thought of her...even if she desperately did.
“So, this is the legendary bedroom.” She deliberately kept her body language loose and easy, hooking a thumb into the pocket of her shorts as she raised an eyebrow to scan the room.
Zach, who was standing in the doorway, said, “Legendary, huh?”
Darn it, that had been exactly the wrong word to use on a guy with an ego like Zach Sullivan’s. But she knew better than to try to backtrack. Instead, she pulled her sweatshirt off, putting it over the leather chair in one corner.
“So,” she said when she slowly turned back to him, “are you ready to do this, or what?”