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You will pay… I will punish you…
As much as she tried to be affronted by that threat, she couldn’t deny that the thought of being punished severely by Zach made her insides turn over with scorching anticipation.No matter how many sexual toys she went through, Zach Savage’s brand of sex would always trump whatever she could come up with in the self-pleasure department.
Her phone rang, jerking her out of her heated daydreams.
“Hey B,” Keely greeted her with a tone much more subdued than her usual hyperactive briskness.
“Hey,” she replied, refusing to acknowledge that part of her had hoped for someone else, someone with a much deeper voice at the end of the line.
“I fucked up your birthday last night.I’m sorry.”
Bethany sighed.“It wasn’t all fucked up,” she replied.Her face flamed again as she remembered how the night had ended.She’d experienced a seriously intense orgasm, and she’d watched one of the most dynamic, sexiest men on the planet lose it on her bedroom floor.“At least now I know what a Fuck Me Blue tastes like.”
Keely laughed.“Yeah, we must go on a cocktail crawl one of these days.Minus one crazy stalker boyfriend, of course.”
A spurt of anger flared up.“He’s not a crazy stalker, Keely.He’s just…”
“Wants you really, really badly?”Contrite Keely was fast receding and Snarky Keely was reasserting herself.
Bethany gripped her phone harder.“I don’t know what he is.Besides, you told him where to find me, remember?”
“Sure, rub it in.But seriously, what are you going to do, B?I get the feeling he’s not going away.”
I don’t want him to.She closed her eyes and swallowed at the fierce power behind the thought.“He wants me to give him an hour.To talk.”
“Maybe you should consider that.”
“What if he just weaves words around me without really telling me what I need to know?”
“You need to ask yourself what’s important to you.Being with him regardless of whether you know about his past or not.Do you think he’ll tell you eventually, when he’s ready?”
“I don’t know.Maybe.”Bethany frowned as her memory tweaked.“Last night, he said something about if he had a choice he would tell me.”
“When last night?”Keely asked sharply.
“I… he followed me home,” she said, then rushed on before Keely could speak.“He wanted to make sure I got home safely.He knew we’d been drinking.”
“Right.Okay.So you think he’s not divulging his past because something—or someone’s—holding him back?”
“I didn’t ask.”
Keely snorted.“Aunt Keely thinks you need to have that talk, baby girl.You’re running around in circles chasing your pretty little tail.You’re both beginning to drive me crazy.Sort yourself out, then call me.I have some juicy details of my hookup from last night.”
Bethany laughed.“You hooked up with someone last night?”
“Of course.After you deserted me, I needed to drown my sorrows.The right guy came along, and I went with the flow.”A noise echoed down the line, followed by a loud crash.Keely laughed under her breath.“Gotta go.My date is trying to escape his leash.”
“Jesus, Keely!”
“Shut up.Don’t judge until you try.Oh hey, there’s an idea.You can tie Savage to a sturdy post and threaten not to release him until he tells you all his secrets.I can come up with a few?—”
“No, thanks,” she interjected quickly.
Keely sighed.“You’re no fun.”
Bethany stretched and eyed the clock.She needed to get up.Her parents would be arriving within the hour.“Heads up before you go, I’m going back to work tomorrow, so no more texts to Sheena.”
Not just for the sake of earning a paycheck; she needed the distraction of work to keep her from losing her mind.Or worse, considering what Zach had suggested last night, that they put the landmine subject of his wife’s death to one side and carry on regardless.