Page 75 of Mile High Addiction

He realized he’d stopped breathing when his lungs burned.Desperately sucking in air, he watched her raise her arms in a graceful arch above her head.Then, staying in pose, she executed the most perfect arabesque.

Zach gritted his teeth at the swiftness with which his cock hardened.But while that reaction was expected, the feeling in his chest as he watched her slowly froze him in place.

Happiness…

“Mr.Savage.”

Dry-mouthed, he continued to stare at the screen, unable to take his eyes off the figure moving through another series of pirouettes and glides.

Happiness, arousal, pride… Fear.All tossed around inside him, jerking his insides into a thousand knots.

Jaw tight, he acknowledged that something was happening here.Something he didn’t have complete control over.For as long as he could remember, even before Farrah had come into his life, he’d been able to control his reactions to women.He called the shots and he never apologized or let things get out of hand.

“Mr.Savage?”

The realization that watching Bethany dance had the power to move him so deeply twisted another knot inside him.A knot made entirely of hopeless longing and deep possessiveness.

He wanted her.More than that, he needed her on a level he’d never needed anyone before.He wanted to claim her on every level.Completely.Immediately.

“Mr.Savage.Sir!”

Wrenching himself from the screen, he looked up.Several pairs of eyes stared at him in varying degrees of puzzlement.

Forcing air into his lungs, he cleared his throat.“Gentlemen, what have you decided?”

“We agree to your terms.”

“Excellent.Let’s move on to the next thing on the agenda.”

He waited until their attention had moved from him before he glanced down at the screen.Whatever music she danced to must have come to an end, because Bethany had sunk into a low, perfect curtsy.

Sweat glistened off her skin, but pure happiness shone from her face.

With not-quite-steady fingers, he slowly shut the laptop, the unshakeable sensation cutting a jagged path through him.

From now on, he wanted to be the one to put that look on her face.

Except he knew that for that to happen he had to unearth parts of his life that could very well drive Bethany away.

* * *

Bethany was still smiling when she emerged from her second shower of the day.It was past seven, and the sun was beginning to turn the sky that breathtaking reddish orange that commanded attention.

Zach hadn’t emerged from his study all day, but her lunch had been delivered with a single long-stemmed yellow rose and a note that readThinking of you, Peaches.

She had to hand it to him.He had a way of disarming her with very little effort.As a way of making her heart twist into forgetting that there was a side of him she barely knew, it was very effective.

She’d carried the rose upstairs with her and now inhaled its seductive scent as she opened the double French doors, which led to the balcony.Barefoot, she walked onto the terrace.

Flagstones, still warm from the sun, soothed her feet which throbbed from her balletic exertions.She didn’t mind the mild pain.The joy she’d felt from dancing again had been immeasurable.

Her only wish was that Zach had been there to see her.

God.She had it bad.Very, very bad.

She rested one hand on the railing, watched the stunning horizon, and tried not to think too hard of what she’d decided in the shower just now.The more she thought about what she’d do to propel a deeper conversation from Zach, the more she was convinced she’d lost her mind.

Plus, chances were it would backfire horribly.

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