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‘We can’tallmake our first million while we’re still in our teens.’ She frowned, turning her thoughts back to what Zane had told her. There had to be something more personal beyond his desire to prove himself to Reed Helberg.
‘Is that it?’ she challenged him. ‘He didn’t like you, so now you want to wreck his legacy?’ It didn’t make sense. Not when Zane himself admitted he didn’t give a damn about what anyone thought. ‘I know you.You’renot that pathetic. What aren’t you telling me?’
His eyes widened. ‘Those are the basic facts. Now it’s my turn for questions.’
She glared at him. He glared right back. Tension pulled the silence to screaming point—until Skylar felt forced to duck his gaze.
‘What do you want to know?’ she growled.
‘Why do you have so little fun?’
Her focus shot right back to his face. ‘Fun?’
‘You’re twenty-six and you were a virgin. What about boyfriends?’
‘Seriously?’She shot an embarrassed glance towards the driver.
‘He can’t hear—’
‘You can ask me anything and you just want to know about my previous relationships?’
‘So you’ve had them?’ He leaned closer, eyebrows arching. ‘Had they all taken a purity pledge or something?’
‘There’s no “they,”’ she growled. ‘There’s been nothing and no one. Literally nothing.’
‘No relationships at all?’
She shook her head.
He stilled. ‘You don’t go out dancing? Not to bars or parties? You’re not on any dating apps?’
She kept shaking her head.
‘I get that you might not want a relationship, but don’t you want—?’
‘Casual sex?’ she interrupted. ‘No.’
‘Yet that’s what you had with me the other night,’ he muttered. ‘And you enjoyed it.’
‘Yes.’ But she couldn’t have it again. It wasn’t anything like she’d thought it would be. It had been hot and intense and honestly, all the damn stars had burst in the sky. She hated how wonderful it had been.
‘Don’t you want to experience that again? If not with me, then...’ He cleared his throat. ‘Someone else?’
Her blood quickened. That was the problem.Neverwith someone else. It was only he who made her inner siren emerge. Not that she’d admit that—he’d take too much egotistical pleasure from it. ‘Relationships. Affairs,’ she mumbled. ‘All that stuff...it’s too much effort.’
‘Effort?’He shot her a startled look. ‘It didn’t take much effort from either of us the other night.’
Right. Again. ‘That was just...’
She tightened her grip on her clutch purse. She didn’t want to analyse this.
His gaze narrowed. ‘You put so much effort into your work, you obviously thinkthateffort is worth it.’
‘Of course.’
‘But you don’t think what happened the other night is worth a little moreeffort?’
Sometimes the best defence was offence. ‘I don’t thinkyou’rein any real position to talk to me about making an effort.’