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This man was strong, powerful, but sensitive in a way that woke fear deep in her heart.If she wasn’t careful, he could devastate her.Before he’d even laid a single finger on her.
He turned back to her and sent her one of those soul-melting smiles.Then, his earpiece back in place, he launched into another business conversation.
She tried to read a magazine for a while, then felt her lids beginning to droop.It was as she was falling asleep, nestled in the thick luxury of the cashmere throw, that the thought intruded.
She’d never asked him what he’d meant by when the time is right.
7
Her breath caught at the heart-stopping sight of the Eiffel Tower.Beside her, in the luxurious cocoon of his Maybach Laundaulet, Zachary turned to her and smiled, but there was a distance in his eyes—the same distance she’d noted when they’d landed half an hour ago—that made alarm tingle down her spine.
“Is this your first time in Paris?”he asked.
“No, my parents brought me here for my twenty-first.I promised myself I’d return one day.”She didn’t add that she’d promised to return with the man she loved.She’d thought for a long time that man would be Chris.
She pressed agitated hands on the soft white leather seat and forced the thought away.They were in the city made for lovers.
When, exactly, she and Zachary Savage would attain that status was beginning to loom like a specter of uncertainty in her mind.She glanced at him and noted his jaw was set harder than it had been minutes ago.
Was he worried about his meeting?Did the city hold memories in some way that didn’t sit well with him?
“This isn’t your first time, obviously,” she ventured.
“No, it isn’t.But I hope after today I can stay clear for a while.”
She frowned.“Why would you want to stay clear?”
“I’m hoping to conclude my business today.Then there won’t be any need to return.”
His phone pinged with yet another phone call.The last twelve hours had shown her just how busy he was.His phone never stopped ringing.She was stunned he’d managed to keep it off while he’d toured Shanghai with her.
This time the conversation was conducted in low, seductive lilting French, which turned surprisingly clipped before he hung up.
“Everything okay?”she couldn’t help asking.More and more she was realizing just how little she knew about him.
He turned those mesmerizing eyes on her but when he smiled, it looked strained.“Not yet, but I’ll take care of it.We’re here.”
Her attention was drawn from him to their destination.
The Indigo Belle Plaza was even more breathtaking than the Indigo Shanghai had been.This building took up a proud and possessive corner of the Rue de Rivoli, with stunning historical architecture steeped in every stone.It exuded wealth and class in a way very few buildings could, from the porticoed windows to the indigo and French flags, fluttering together in the breeze from what looked like solid gold masts.
Her heart hammered as she was helped from the back seat by a starchily uniformed doorman.Just as in Shanghai, Zach was treated like royalty.
She watched, semi-bemused as the manager bowed and scraped them into the elevator that took them to the presidential suite.
They’d barely entered when Zach turned to her.That restless distance was still in place, making her heart pound with dread.Before she could summon the courage to ask him what was going on, he started to back away.
“Make yourself at home.Order room service.I will be back in a few hours.”
“O… okay.”
He started walking to the door and stopped, then spun on his heel.“And Bethany?”
“Yes?”
Weirdly, the sight of his clenched fists made her feel better.His gaze devoured her, frightening yet reassuring her that he was just as surely being driven insane by the sexual charge arcing between them.In that, she wasn’t alone.
“Know this.Everything changes on my return.”