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"Good going," Zack said, still grinning. "Now the poor guy thinks you're making fun of him."
"No, he thinks you're making fun of him." She lowered her head and picked at the quail to hide her heating face.
Zack cursed himself for suggesting the flirting. Maybe he should've thought it through first. The truth was, it was just an excuse to get Annie to go out with him, in that dress.
Lucky for him she was an atrocious flirt. Cute, yes, and men responded to her when she was being herself, but when the pressure was on, she failed miserably.
Not so lucky for the young waiter. He must be thinking he'd got a couple of LA nut cases at table twenty-two. Zack really hadn't meant to scare him, just discourage him. But he'd lost it when Annie got a smile out of Peter. Zack knew he had to nip the conversation in the bud, before it took a direction he hadn't anticipated and didn't like.
His discouraging glare must have worked because a different waiter collected their plates and delivered their main course. He was an arrogant, forty-something man with a poor imitation of a French accent. He didn't smile at them and Annie didn't try flirting with him. Thankfully.
"Dance?" Zack asked as the music softened and a few couples waltzed onto the floor.
She hesitated before nodding. "I'm not a very good dancer."
"Just follow my lead."
He held out his hand and Annie placed her fingers in his like she'd seen them do in the movies. He twirled her onto the floor and deftly caught her in his arms.
"Show off," she muttered but smiled anyway.
"Just letting everyone see the beautiful woman I get to dance with."
She blushed.
Zack was an excellent dancer. They glided across the floor. She felt like a princess in a fairytale. During a slower song, his hand caressed her back and he pulled her close. She could feel every muscle rippling in his body as they moved to the rhythm of the music.
"You know," he said, "you really aren't a very good flirt, are you?"
"You sound surprised. I thought I'd made that obvious from day one when all we did was argue."
He smiled. "We weren't arguing, we were disagreeing. Besides, I thought that was your way of flirting. I guess not all guys fall for that don't-mess-with-me attitude. I'm just a sucker for punishment."
Annie sucked in a breath and dared not look at his face. Did he just say, in a round-about way, that he liked her? From the beginning?
Or did she just get the wrong message entirely?
That must be it. No way would he like her. Want her, yes, to add to his tally, but not like her. Not enough to have a proper relationship with her anyway.
"Poor Peter," he continued. "I think you scared him into quitting."
"Very funny. He hasn't quit, I saw him before. He just swapped tables with the crabby old waiter. And I don't think I was the one who scared him off."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing," she said lightly, "but I saw that look you gave him."
Zack's grip on her waist tightened and he humphed but said nothing. She smiled to herself. Nothing like a little white lie to bring out the truth. The smile slipped and she breathed out a long breath. This was getting intense. And scary.
"Do you want dessert?" he asked, breaking into her thoughts.
"Of course I want dessert. It's the best part of any meal. Besides, I haven't got any ice cream at my place after you ate it all."
He took her hand and led her back to their table. "It was Snoopy."
"Really? Did he use one paw or two to hold the spoon?"
"Very funny."
They ordered dessert and coffee and considered playing a practical joke on the waiter to get him to smile but decided it wouldn't work because his sense of humor was locked away somewhere along with his real accent.
When they finished, Zack paid using his gold credit card and Annie bit her lip. She should offer to pay her half but she'd have to stop eating for a month to afford it.
"My treat," he said, signing. How did he read her mind like that? It was unnerving. He stood and helped her out of her seat. The waiter produced their jackets from thin air and Zack placed Annie's around her shoulders. His fingers caressed the back of her neck, leaving warm tingles in their wake.
"Let's go," he said, his voice a low rumble.
Flustered from the tingles and the voice, Annie stumbled and would have tipped forward if he hadn't caught her.
"You haven't had too much to drink again, have you?"
"No." She sniffed. "I don't need to be drunk to make a fool of myself. I do a perfectly good job when I'm sober."
***
They drove home in record time and Annie wondered if Zack had kept to the speed limit. It wouldn't surprise her if he hadn't—speeding fit his image.
He helped her from the car when they stopped outside her building, and held her hand as they walked to the door. The gentle rubbing of his thumb across her palm sent a rush of blood to her head. Even with high heels on, he towered over her. But far from being intimidating, his size suited him. Annie felt the power behind his touch, and his self-confidence.
He strode toward her door, never taking his eyes off her, even to see where he was going. The two dark orbs burned fiercely, their intensity warming her entire body. She sensed the connection between them, but it wasn't enough. She wanted more, more of him, and every nerve ending tingled in anticipation.
She fumbled with the key in the lock and managed to get the door open despite her shaking limbs. Zack hesitated just inside the door, as if deciding whether to take her to the bedroom or straight to the sofa. Apparently both were too far. He gently pushed her back against the wall where they stood.
"Annie," he said, voice rusty, "I'm sorry."
He brushed a knuckle down her cheek and her stomach fluttered. Muscles clenched in places that had lain dormant for too long.
"What for?" she asked in a thin voice.
"I can't help this." He kissed her lightly on the lips, then again, lingering and tasting and breathing hard. He pulled away. "You just do this to me..."
But before she could ask what she did, his mouth had descended again and cut off all words and all thoughts except one—she needed the kiss to continue or she'd die. No way was she going to stop him this time. She couldn't even if she wanted to.
If his caresses made her skin tingle, his kiss made it burn. She reached up and curled her fingers in his hair, relishing the way it slid through her grip like a waterfall. Then she noticed nothing, except his delicious lips and tongue, and the way he turned her body to mush.
Zack's hand slipped around to her back and unzipped her dress. His movements had quickened, becoming urgent along with his fierce, deep kisses. The fingers that traveled down her spine felt warm and firm as he pressed her to him. His desire—rubbing hard and long against her stomach—was unmistakable.
Then all of a sudden, as if he'd finally lost all self-control, Zack tore the dress off and leaned down to take her nipple into his mouth.
The ruined dress slithered to her ankles and Annie cringed at the amount of money he'd just wasted, then all thoughts disappeared as his fingers delved into her panties. Slowly, slowly, sensations rippled from her thighs to her breasts to the roots of her hair as Zack's mouth and fingers worked together as a tandem team and heated her body to boiling point.
"Oh, my..."
She shuddered, twice, and her body exploded into millions of fragments. She might have screamed. She might have called his name. She definitely saw stars.
Zack picked up her limp body and carried her to the bedroom. He lay her gently on the bed and stood back. His breathing was hard and erratic, and his eyes gleamed as they traveled the length of her body. It was time to put him out of his misery.
She knelt on the bed. "You've already seen me naked," she said. "I think it's time I saw you." Who said that? It couldn't have been her. She'd never been so brave, or wanton, in her life before.
She started to unbutton his shirt, but progress was too slow so she ripped it apart. Buttons popped off and showered them. She unzipped his trousers and reached inside. Zack groaned and closed his eyes. She widened hers and let go. He was very well endowed.
She pulled his trousers and his shorts down and he sprang free.
"Oh, my..."
But he hadn't heard her, or if he did, he showed no response except to push her gently back on the bed and kiss her hard on the lips. He leaned on one arm, spread himself alongside her and caressed her thigh. Her skin vibrated beneath his touch. She'd die if he didn't enter her soon.
"Now," she breathed, but he sat up and fumbled in the pocket of his trousers.
"Condom," he said through ragged breaths.
He tore open the packet and she watched as he stretched the condom over his length. His very long length. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She was badly out of practice and she wasn't sure her body was built for a man like Zack.
