Jesus, first he was trying to get her to write him poetry about being together, and then when she didn’t give him the answer he wanted, he was actually begging for a second night.
She slid onto the leather barstool and picked up a piece of toast. “Sounds fun, but the big auction for the animal shelter is tonight.”
If she was trying to blow him off, she’d have to work a hell of a lot harder than that.
He got up to let the dogs back in, but instead of returning to his seat at the bar, he stood in front of her. “What time should I pick you up?”
She frowned. “I didn’t ask you to go with me.”
“I like animals.” He looked down at Cuddles, who had found a shoe from his closet to chew on. He took the shoe out of the puppy’s mouth and replaced it with a plastic chew toy.
“I’ve put a lot of work into this event, and I can’t let anything distract me from bringing in the most money for the shelter that I can.” She put down her unfinished toast. “It won’t work for you to come with me, but I’m happy to get together for sex afterward if you want.”
Heather was saying exactly what he’d always wanted a woman to say, was offering precisely what he’d always dreamed a woman would offer. Only, now that his wish had finally been granted, it turned out that getting exactly what he wanted grated like a sonofabitch.
“What are you going to wear?”
She blinked at his non sequitur. “A dress.”
She was beautiful even when she was frowning at him. He didn’t see any point in checking the urge to lean forward to kiss the lines between her eyebrows.
“What color?”
He didn’t think she was aware of reaching up to press her fingertips to the place he’d just kissed as she said, “Blue.”
Zach wound a lock of her hair around his index finger and slid his thumb over the silky softness. “I’ve never seen you in a dress.”
“You’ve seen me naked. Isn’t that good enough?”
He didn’t think before answering, “No, it isn’t.”
She slid off her seat and backed away from him. “What are you doing, Zach?”
“Working on getting an invitation to your party.”
She shook her head. “If you came with me, everyone would think we were dating.”
“So what?”
“So what?” She sounded more than a little aggravated. “We’re not dating and you’re not my boyfriend. We agreed,” she reminded him, “that this thing we’re doing is just sex.” Her gaze was too steady as she held his. “Tell me now if you’ve changed your mind and we can stop right here.”
Zach’s gut twisted at the thought of not seeing Heather again. One night with her wasn’t nearly enough, but hot sex wasn’t all he’d miss if she decided not to be with him anymore.
He’d miss her laughter.
He’d miss the way she softened around the dogs.
He’d miss her smart mouth ripping into him just like the people he loved the most in the world always had.
But he knew why she was wary. Her father was an ass**le who had lied to her his whole life. Zach couldn’t love her, wouldn’t make the mistake of promising her a forever he didn’t have, but he would never lie to her.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Heather.”
She went perfectly still. “I know you’re not. Because I’m not going to let you.”
She grabbed her bag, picked up her car keys, and made a sound that had Atlas leaving his game with Cuddles and moving to her side.
Zach grabbed her hand before she could walk away from him. “I’ll see you tonight.” He knew what she wanted to hear, so he made himself say, “For sex.” He let his mouth curve up into a grin. “Really, really great sex.”
He knew it could go either way at this point. All he could hope was that she’d enjoyed the time she’d spent in his arms enough to want to do it all again.
Finally, she said, “It will probably be really late by the time everything is over.”
“Late-night sex is one of my specialties.”
He was beyond glad when she finally smiled again. “Only you would have sexual specialties.”
“Here’s another,” he said before he gave her a goodbye kiss that he intended she remember for the rest of the day.
Chapter Twenty
The first thing Zach noticed that evening when he stepped into the large ballroom at The Fairmont was Heather’s laughter. She was speaking with an older couple and even from across the room, the sound of her joy washed over him, just as it had that morning when she’d been on his lap in bed and he’d made her laugh.
My God, he thought as he took in her long, silky hair flowing down her back and the long-sleeved, dark blue dress that ended just below her knees to showcase her perfectly toned and tanned calves and ankles. She’s so beautiful.
He loved her in shorts, and had more than one fantasy about all the fun he could have with that long braid of hers in bed. She’d always taken his breath away, without doing a damn thing to try to accentuate her natural beauty. All around her, women were decked out in sequins and sky-high heels intended to draw eyes to them. But in her simple blue dress, Heather outshone them all.
She hadn’t wanted him here as a distraction, but he’d come anyway because that was how he’d always run his life. Putting what he wanted—and his own happiness—first.