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She leaned closer and slid her arm around his waist.Her nose nuzzled his throat.He closed his eyes and reveled in the softness and goodness of her.
After several minutes, he opened his eyes and looked down at her.“Do you have a question for me today?”Again, he noted that this—letting her in—was getting easier.
Her smile lit her up from the inside, and his brain fried.God, how was it possible she had no idea how gorgeous she was?His thumb traced her lower lip, and he watched her eyelids flutter with pleasure.
“I had a question for you.You just answered it.”
Surprise jerked through him.“You wanted to know about my mother?”
“I wanted to know about your childhood.”
He nodded, then breathed in deep.“And are you okay knowing there won’t be any fond family Thanksgiving dinners?”
Her mouth brushed his throat again.“I’m okay knowing we’ll have our own Thanksgiving dinner together some day.”
He splayed not too steady fingers through her hair and angled her face to his.“I intend for us to have many.Get used to the idea.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Are you sassing me, Peaches?”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”Her smile indicated otherwise.He started to lower his head, to taste those sweet lips that had the power to wreck his world and put it back together again.Her question stopped him.
“So what’s going to happen now with Karim?”
Renewed anger churned through his gut.“I won’t let him threaten me.I won’t let him threaten us.”
“Zach…”
“Let me worry about it, baby.”
“I don’t want you to go through this alone.The alpha thing is sexy and all, but there are some things I will insist on sharing.”
“Understood.Now enlighten me as to what else you think is sexy…”
The atmosphere had lightened considerably by the time they arrived at The Indigo Palazzo Roma in the heart of the Italian city just off Piazza Navona.
His uncompromising business ethic, coupled with his drive for perfection in all things, usually worked well to charm and impress his IL guests.
But for the rest of the afternoon as he watched Bethany swing into work mode and seek to deliver the very best experience to each guest, he surmised that perhaps on this occasion, his guests were enthralled for a different reason.
She put each guest at ease while maintaining a distance that made the Neanderthal in him stop wanting to rip things apart.Their dinner at La Pergola, the three-Michelin-star restaurant, came with a wine list that made even the Wall Street CEO and self-confessed seasoned connoisseur’s eyes bulge.
Zach sat back and watched her effortlessly charm his guests.When a few of them drifted off after coffee to admire the rooftop view of Rome at night, he stayed at his table and allowed himself an unashamed view of his woman.Her dark gold, silk-clad body had been teasing him all evening.The material especially clung to her ass in a way that made his groin burn every time she walked away from him, which had been often, much to his irritation.
He finally cornered her an hour after they’d arrived at Gilda, the exclusive club, where she’d arranged after-dinner chill-out drinks.
She smiled when he spun her in his arms on the dance floor.“Having fun?”
“Yes.What can I say?I enjoy my work.Did you see Jerry Daniels’ face when the sommelier brought out the wine list?I thought he was going to have a heart attack.”Her eyes sparkled, and Zach thought she’d never looked more beautiful.
“You knew he was a wine collector?”
She raised a perfect eyebrow.“You doubt that I did my homework?”
“I never doubt you, Peaches.”
Her breath shortened, and her eyes dropped to his mouth.Flames fanned into roaring life, and his cock followed suit.“How much longer until we can ditch this circus?”