Page 44 of Mile High Addiction

A sudden thought struck her.“That’s what you meant by ‘when the time is right’!”

He nodded.

“It was also why you didn’t touch me after that time in your office.”His iron-strong restraint, his desperately hungry looks.It all made sense now.

“I didn’t think it was right to lay a full claim on you when another woman felt she had the right to claim me.I wanted to finish things properly with her first.”

She shook her head.“It still doesn’t feel right…”

“Bethany, I’ve belonged to you since the moment I saw you.I had to make sure someone else knew that.That’s all.”

That floored her.In these days of dumping-by-text where guys felt perfectly absolved of any responsibility once they’d pressed send, Zach had flown thousands of miles to put things right with one girlfriend before starting with another.She’d seen the strain and naked hunger in his eyes from the moment they’d met.He’d stopped himself from acting on it until he was truly free.

But would the same thing happen to her when he met someone else?Would she also receive a visit from Zachary, informing her he now belonged to another woman?There was integrity in his action but also a cold bloodedness that struck a vein of terror in her heart.

“Don’t overthink this, Bethany.My confrontation with Sadie was a long overdue thing.I’m sorry I had to do it after I met you rather than before, but once you came into my life, there was no question that it had to be done.Do you get that?”

“I’m trying to… but…” Her brain whirled with a flood of thoughts, but the most disturbing idea was that he’d been with another woman, one who’d known him intimately.That reality made her gut knot with acrid jealousy.

“What are you thinking, Peaches?”he murmured, drawing his hot body closer as if sensing her weakening.The hands that had been clamped on her waist now braced the wall on either side of her head, making her feel truly caged in, surrounded by him.

When his ripped torso leaned in closer, she fought to remember what her answer was.

“I’m thinking she didn’t look like she was expecting the news you delivered yesterday…”

Beautifully sexy lips firmed.“I can’t help that.Once I saw you, there was no prolonging this.The two days I had to wait to have you were the longest of my life,” he growled in that sexy baritone that shivered all the way to her toes.

“I’m also thinking I’m not sure whether I want you more for displaying such nobility, or whether to claw your eyes out for leaving me here while you went to dump your old girlfriend.”

He caught a swathe of hair in his fingers and brought it to his lips.Watching the mouth she was dying to devour work its way over her hair was so curiously erotic, she could only stare.

“I would much prefer it if you wanted me more.”His mouth dropped to graze along her jaw, sending a thousand sparks of desire racing across her nerve endings.

“I think that’s near impossible right now.”Not with that mouth moving so close to hers.Not when she could sense the barely leashed sexual predator prowling close, intent on consuming her.

His soft laugh tickled her earlobe.“But you can try harder.”

“Maybe.Wait.”She pushed at his shoulders until he leaned back from her.“You said that wasn’t all you did.So where were you for the rest of the time?”

“I attended a three-hour meeting and finalized the deal I’d been working on.”

“Oh, right.”She made a quick calculation.“But that still doesn’t make up for how long you were away.”

He let loose that hot smile again.“You were counting the hours?”

“Answer the question, Zach.”She didn’t want to be that girlfriend who needed to know where her man was at every moment, but Zach had thrown the door wide open on this one.Besides, after being blindsided by Chris, her trust had taken a deep-sea diving excursion for the foreseeable future.

“No, I wasn’t just at the meeting.”

She looked into his eyes, saw the expectancy.“There’s more, isn’t there?”

“Clever girl.I was hoping you’d ask me that.”

“Really?Why?”

She held her breath as he reached into his back pocket and withdrew a sheet of paper.

“Because I also stopped at my doctor’s.”