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“Well, in that case, when the time comes, I’ll bring the wire cutters.”
Angela smiled speculatively.“You’re a keeper.We should hang out when we get back to New York.”
Bethany smiled.“I’d like that.”
The men joined them, and they headed inside for lunch of roast peppers stuffed with shredded lamb and pasta.
As they enjoyed coffee, Zach caught her hand in his and trailed his lips over her skin.
Her phone beeped.She ignored it, caught up in the intense gaze of the man who commanded her emotions so very effortlessly.
“You like the house?”He seemed a little nervous.
“Yes, I do.”
He nodded.“Good.”
She raised a brow.“Good?Is this some sort of audition?”
A corner of his mouth tilted.“Maybe.”
“I hate it when you’re cryptic.”
“It’s okay, Peaches,” he murmured for her ears alone.“You can work out your frustrations on me later.”
Her phone beeped again.Zach plucked it off the table, glanced at the screen and inserted it in his pocket.He ignored her arched look and stood.
“You work for me.The only person who should be commandeering your time is me.”He took her hand and pulled her up.
Gabriel and Angela followed, and they headed back to the chopper.
Easy banter accompanied the ride back to Rome, but every now and then, she caught a look on Zach’s face that made her nape tingle.
In the rush of getting packed to head to the airport, she forgot to ask for her phone back.
Three hours after takeoff, he lowered his superb body over hers, pinning her to their king-sized cabin bed.“You want to try out the sky deck?I still have a promise to keep.Something about fucking you as we race toward the stars?”
She tried to lift her hand to smooth back his hair, but her hand flopped uselessly back down as her sweat-slicked body shuddered through the afterglow of yet another orgasm.“Give me a year, Zach.I’m sure I will have caught my breath by then.”
He laughed, pure arrogance and male satisfaction throbbing through his voice.“You have an hour.”
“Oh… joy.”Her eyes drifted shut as he turned sideways and tucked her into his side.His steady heartbeat beneath her cheek lulled her deeper into sleep.With a sigh, she gave in.
* * *
Zach held his breath until he was sure she was asleep.Then he released the anger locked inside him.
Karim had taken the situation to a whole different level.The second message he’d sent to Bethany’s phone had contained more clues as to what had happened six years ago.His ex-brother-in-law was skating dangerously close to breaching the terms of the agreement he was fighting Zach to protect.
He meant to threaten Zach.And damn if it wasn’t working.
A trace of panic flared alongside his anger.Karim couldn’t have chosen a better bull’s-eye to aim for by setting his sights on Bethany.But what he didn’t realize was that Zach would protect the most important thing in his life—Bethany—at all costs.
The fact that his ex-brother-in-law may not also know the whole truth had crossed his mind.It was the reason Zach had gone against his own rigid principles and placed the call to Farrah’s parents earlier this evening.
His message had been simple.And succinct.
Now he needed to wait and see what shook out.See if they could halt the juggernaut that their son was dangerously close to crashing.