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Chapter One
Jagged breaths…
Hot kisses…
One mind-blowing orgasm and then another…
Until the sun rose in the sky the next morning…
She was startled when she first awoke in an unfamiliar place. Her heart skipped a beat as it took her a moment to get acclimated and reacquainted with the space she was in. She’d only slept in the familiar, so when Zsanine’s eyes opened and she didn’t recognize anything around her, she was caught off guard. Then she remembered as her eyes explored her luxurious, comforting surroundings. As Zsanine lay next to Zander in New York, surrounded by books, on their first official date, she had mixed feelings. Had this situation been described to her, making love to a man on the first official date, compromising everything she thought about herself, giving in to passion she didn’t know she possessed, riding the thrills she didn’t expect him to provide, Zsanine would have never thought it would be her. But it was her.
Zander moved next to her. She could feel the full length of his body as his remained pressed against hers. Zsanine was nearly embarrassed by the thrilling sensation that coursed through her. His body against hers felt amazing. His arm wrapped around her covetously felt indescribable. The way he loved her the night before felt dangerous, forbidden, and desirous. Zsanine’s mind drifted back to the night before, and the escalation in her heartbeat continued. Zander had been an extremely patient and attentive lover. It was as though he knew just what to do to her body as if it belonged to him. He took her to the edge of ecstasy, pushed her off, and then caught her just in the nick of time. It was thrilling, exhilarating, and a little frightening. Zsanine could have never imagined that anyone, any man, would know her body better than she did.
He did. Zander knew.
Zsanine was both thrilled and embarrassed by the memories. She would never have imagined that she could be so free. But she had been utterly free with Zander. Maybe she’d been too free. Maybe what she experienced wasn’t really real. Perhaps the connection she felt with Zander was a mere figment of her imagination. There was disagreement between Zsanine’s head and what she felt in her heart. It was an uncomfortable feeling, and the more it lingered, the more she became uncomfortable lying next to him.
Zsanine eased out of the bed, trying desperately not to disturb Zander. She was determined to shower and dress before he woke up. Zsanine eased from under the cover and lowered her pedicured feet to the floor. Just as she got ready to stand up, she noticed two bags close to her nightstand that hadn’t been there before. Curious, Zsanine reached over to the one bag that had an envelope ribboned to the handle. Quietly, she removed the envelope, opened it, and read what it said.
You didn’t think I would bring you to a bookstore and you not get any books, did you? Think of me fondly with every page you read.
Z
When Zsanine leaned over and opened one of the bags, she saw part of the stack of books she’d selected the night before. The second bag revealed the remainder of them. He’d bought every single book she’d taken off the shelf. She turned around and looked at Zander, who was still sleeping peacefully. His gesture was incredibly thoughtful, and a pleasant sigh passed through Zsanine’s lips, and then a smile replaced it as she silently stood to her feet. She walked on tiptoe to the adjoined bathroom, trying desperately to be quiet. Her face flushed again as she recognized her own nakedness as she moved. Once inside, she pivoted on her feet and closed the door gently behind herself. Zsanine could breathe in earnest once she was behind the closed door. As she walked over to the shower, her mind still reeled with the mixed emotions she felt.
Stepping inside the steaming shower, Zsanine tried not to think. She’d been overthinking since the moment she’d awakened. She allowed the water to wash over her, warming her flesh. As she lathered the body wash, Zsanine tried to enjoy the moment simply. But it wasn’t simple with a man like Zander sleeping in the attached room. It was automatic that her thoughts returned to him, superseding her intended imposition of any notion of Zander St. Clair. But he was right there with Zsanine as she lathered and rinsed her body, the one he seemed to know so well. How could something that felt so good, felt so right, be so wrong?
Zsanine still didn’t have the answer to that question even after stepping out of the shower, drying off, and slipping into a robe. She hadn’t planned to be gone overnight, so she hadn’t brought anything additional to wear. She wasn’t thinking clearly when she entered the bathroom because she didn’t bring the outfit she wore the night before in with her. This was wildly inconvenient, but in the absence of fresh clothes to wear, she had very little choice. All of that sneaking out of the bed to get dressed before Zander woke up seemed to be for naught as she had no choice but to reenter the suite in a robe.
Zsanine felt foolish as she stepped back into the bedroom. She felt even more foolish when she saw Zander standing there staring at her.
“Good morning,” he greeted with the same smile that made it easy for Zsanine to relax and be comfortable with him in the first place. Her eyes moved down the length of him, appreciating the strength of his shoulders, the contours of his highly defined chest, and the taper of his waist that disappeared into the sweatpants he wore. Zsanine felt Zander’s eyes on her as she appraised him. She was slow to lift her eyes, but when she did, his were right there. Zander wore a slight smile that revealed so much to Zsanine. In meeting his eyes, she felt like he knew what the messaging was and how it impacted her. The smile said it all, and Zsanine flushed in response.
“Good morning,” Zsanine smiled, feeling more self-conscious about what she was wearing and realizing how ridiculous it was because he’d already seen her in her glory. That didn’t stop Zsanine from feeling the way she felt. But when Zander moved in her direction, with his sexy swag and scintillating confidence, gathering Zsanine up in his strong arms, those thoughts and feelings started to dissipate. It was hard to be self-conscious when he looked at her the way he did. Zsanine saw her reflection in Zander’s eyes, and the feeling of being in his arms made all that insecurity fade away. It was powerful and disarming, and Zsanine wasn’t sure how to feel about it. No one had ever impacted her the way he did, and it was frightening and exciting simultaneously and unnerving and strange in a way. It was so different for Zsanine. And where she had been confident and reassured in who she was as a person, somehow this incredible man made Zsanine question so many things.
And then, Zander kissed her.
It was the kind of kiss that resonated through Zsanine’s core so unexpectedly, yet so warmly, not because she hadn’t kissed him before but because his intentionality in this kiss she would certainly remember. She had quite intimately remembered the kisses that preceded this one. Yet, this time when he kissed her, the unexpected came from how natural it felt, how good it felt, how right it felt when he did. Zsanine felt him, his energy moving through her in the most provocative way. Everything in their world cojoined, and the world around them evaporated into nothingness. There was only Zander and Zsanine. That’s how she felt when he kissed her. That’s how he felt when he kissed her.
It took Zsanine a moment to mentally compose herself after the kiss was over. It took Zsanine a moment to meet Zander’s eyes again. The feeling was too intense and all-consuming. And then, quite unexpectedly, Zsanine smiled and huffed a bit before lifting her eyes to meet Zanders.
“I left my clothes in here.”
“I know,” Zander hummed.
“I didn’t expect to spend the night. I didn’t bring anything else, so I need to retrieve them,” she confessed.
“Don’t think me forward,” Zander replied. “Although it might be too late.” The preface of Zander’s comment was practically apologetic, but his intonation suggested otherwise.
“What do you mean?” Zsanine inquired, still finding it difficult to maintain his intrusive gaze.
“I took the liberty of having some things placed in the closet for you,” he commented, maintaining the intensity of his gaze.
“What, on the off chance that we’d end up here and I just might need a change of clothes?”
She lifted her eyes to see a slight smile part Zander’s delicious lips. Zander raised his hand and gently tucked Zsanine’s curly tresses behind her ear. Even in her uncomfortableness, Zander had a way of tilting Zsanine off-kilter in the best possible way. His touch was sweet, gentle, and disarming.
“Yes.”
