“Bailey?”
Bailey turned to Neil Rothbart seated to her left. “Yes, Neil?”
“Nothing, really. You just looked like you were deep in thought.” He studied her with keen eyes. “Everything okay? Any problems at the firm I should know about?”
“No.” She shook her head. “None at all. In fact, everything’s great.”
“We were pleased to see you’d snagged Hyerdahl Industries as a client.” Neil’s voice broke into her mental conversation with herself. “That’s a big one.”
She certainly knew that. She’d worked for a year to get Evan Hyerdahl to agree to switch to Blake, Rothbart and Padilla as his corporate counsel. She’d spent a lot of hours on his boat when he came to Naples, chatting with him and members of his board. She knew they figured in every major decision he made, so it was worth the investment of time. She also was aware he’d checked with two other conglomerates she handled and had done an intense study of the firm itself. That was okay. A man didn’t grow a billion dollar enterprise without crossing every T and dotting every I.
“I’m rather excited about it myself,” she told Neil. “It took me a long time to reel him in, but it was time well spent. I got an inside look at the man, his board, and his company. I feel even more confident, now, that I can handle whatever he needs.”
“I was telling Blake the other day what a stroke of luck it was meeting you when you were here visiting that time.”
“For me, too,” she assured him. “So thank you for making me a part of the firm.”
“I should be thanking you,” he told her. “You never know when I might find just the way to do that.”
Bailey let it ride, not feeling the need to comment. Maybe they’d up her compensation package. Whatever. She made a damn good living, and she loved being part of the firm.
Trying not to be obvious about it, she glanced at her watch for what was probably the hundredth time since they’d sat down to dinner.
“Hot date?” Neil asked.
Her cheeks heated, and she was afraid she was blushing. Damn. At her age and in front of one of her bosses.
“Nothing that can’t wait.”
Liar!
“I’d say we’re about done here anyway.” He looked around the small room where they’d had their private dinner. “My guess is everyone’s planning to hit the bar and relax.”
“Probably.” She grinned at him. “As long as they don’t show up for the morning session half in the bag.”
“I think we can ride herd on them enough so that doesn’t happen.” Neil winked, pushed his chair away from the table, and rose. “If I can have everyone’s attention for a moment? I think we’re about done here. Blake, Evan, and I want to invite any of you who are interested to join us in the bar here. Drinks on the firm for tonight. But before we leave, I think we owe a round of applause to Bailey George for arranging this retreat. This dinner was a great kickoff.”
Bailey gave a tiny nod. “I hope you all think so after I’ve worked your brains to death this weekend.”
Laughter skittered over the crowd. Then people began drifting out of the room toward the lobby.
“You coming?” Neil asked.
“In a little bit. I have something personal I have to take care of first.”
“I hope it’s nothing bad. You know we’re a family, Bailey. If you ever need help, you can come to us.”
“I appreciate that.” And she did. “And I promise if that ever became necessary, that’s exactly what I’ll do. Count on it. But no, nothing drastic.”
Neil studied her face for a moment then nodded. “Okay, then. See you after a while.” He paused. “If you’re sure there’s no problem.”
“Positive.”
Unless she counted the thought of six feet of pure masculine sex who would be coming to her villa in a very short while. She alternated between eager anticipation and wondering if she’d made a huge mistake. How could she tell him about all the years since they’d been together without letting something slip about Michael? She was liable to end up with both of them hating her if she wasn’t careful.
She could still call it off. All she had to do was text him she’d changed her mind. Of course, knowing Zack, that would just mean he’d be pounding at her door, wanting to know why and insisting they talk. Worse yet, she had a feeling if Zack had his way, talking was the least of what they’d do.
She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about that kiss. It zapped through her, touching every part of her body inside and out and bringing back memories she’d tried to bury all these years. She’d needed every bit of discipline to keep from touching her fingers to her lips throughout dinner. Damn. She was in a world of trouble.
Swallowing a sigh, Bailey hunted up someone from the event staff to tell them the dinner had been great and check again on the arrangements for the morning. She’d decided to contain everyone during the day, so meals would be served buffet style in the room they’d be using. At last, when she couldn’t put it off any longer, she texted Zack.
Twenty minutes. My villa. The last one on the pathway.
Did that sound too much like she was giving orders? Too late now. She hurried along the pathway from the main building to the exquisite villa Lacey had put her up in. For whatever reason, she wanted to shower before Zack got there. Take off her public lawyer personality and put on the comfy jeans and T-shirt she’d brought with her for alone times. That way, she would be just plain Bailey George, not Bailey George, Doctor of Law.
Back at the villa, she showered, scrubbed off all her makeup, and spritzed a little cologne on her pulse points. She was going to give him just plain Bailey tonight. No frills, no war paint. This wasn’t a seduction, after all. Was it? Okay, then why had she invited him to the villa, where the two of them would be alone? She could tell herself all she wanted to that she preferred not to have a conversation with him in the middle of a crowd, but was that the real reason?
It’s dangerous being alone with him like this.
No. I’m a grown woman. I can handle this.
Yeah, right.
Sighing, she finished brushing out her hair. She had just pulled it back into a ponytail when the doorbell chimed. Bailey hauled in a breath and let it out slowly.
Okay. Here goes nothing.
When she opened the door and saw Zack standing there, the outdoor light shining on him, the blue shirt he now wore the exact color of his eyes, for a moment, she simply could not breathe. Her pulse ratcheted up so much she was sure she could hear it pounding in her head. She was afraid she’d actually lick her lips.
Big mistake, Bailey. The last thing you need is to be alone with him.
“Okay if I come in?” he teased.
“Oh. Of course. Yes.” Idiot.
She opened the door wider and stepped back to let him inside. He stopped right in front of her and dipped his head, inhaling.
“Still wearing the same scent of jasmine that always knocked me out.”
“I can’t believe you remember it after all this time.”
He cupped her chin and tilted her face up so he could look directly into her eyes.
“There’s not a damn thing I’ve forgotten about you, Bailey. Not one single thing.” He dropped his hand and looked around the living room. “Quite a place, this resort. Must have cost them a bundle to build.”
“I think they have investors. Lacey Walker, who owns the resort with her husband Clay, already owned some of the land. The house she had on it was destroyed by a hurricane, and they moved on from there.”
“They’ve done a great job.” He stood for a moment, watching her with that intense gaze of his.
Okay, now what, Bailey?
“Would you like a drink? Or something?”
“I’d rather have the ‘or something,’ but, sure, a drink would be great. Maybe some wine?”
“Of course.”
Now, why had she done that? She needed to have a clear head for this. No, she needed to calm her nerves a lot better. There was a fully stocked wine cooler Bailey had discovered earlier. She pulled a bottle of white from its holder and found a corkscrew in one of the kitchen drawers.
“I’ll do that.” The deep voice reverberated through her, and Zack’s warm hand nearly singed her skin as it closed over hers.
“Okay.” She jerked her hand away, electrified by just that little bit of contact. And, of course, the memory of the kiss hopped out front and center.
She found wine glasses in the cupboards, and Zack filled each of them. Then he touched his to hers.
“To an interesting evening.” He took a long swallow.
Bailey stared at him. “What does that mean exactly?”
“It means I hope we’re going to learn a lot about what we’ve both been doing for the past—how long is it?—oh, yeah, twenty-four years.”
Bailey sipped her wine, although she really wanted to slug it down. “Want to sit out by the pool? It’s really nice out there. Besides, what’s the sense of having your own private pool if you don’t at least sit by it?” And there were no couches.
“Sure. Lead the way.”
They ended up sitting at the umbrella table, but so close their knees were touching. Zack stared at her, as if waiting for her to start the conversation.
“So, in the beginning, was Alaska all you thought it would be?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Didn’t we already discuss that?”
“You mean on the beach? Sort of. But I want to know if you were glad you took Nate’s offer.”
He shrugged. “In the beginning, and for a long time after that.”
“Tell me about it.” That was pretty safe territory. Right? “You didn’t give me many details before.”
He swallowed some of his wine then sat back in his chair. As she listened to him describe the three-plane flying service Nate had bought with just one pilot besides himself, she could hear the excitement in his voice. The moment Zack arrived, Nate handed him a big book with all the maps and previous flight plans, told him to study it, then stuck him in a plane and said, “Go.” There was no missing the energy that crackled from him as he talked about what he did. And as she listened, she was more convinced than ever she’d done the right thing.
“I’d have to say, there’s scarcely a place in Alaska I haven’t flown,” he told her. “But that’s not what I—”
“And are you happy in Atlanta? Are you doing well there?”
“Yes.” He frowned. “Why are you—”
“So we both have been successful,” she interrupted, not sure if she was ready—or ever would be—to discuss their last days together and her silence since then.
“Okay, if you want to play twenty questions, was law school everything you thought it would be? I’ll bet you aced every class.”
She shrugged. “I did well. I guess because I loved what I was studying.”
“I hope you didn’t lock yourself up with your books until graduation. All work and no play…you know what that does.”
“I was fine. I had a life outside of law school.” With Michael.
“And you ended up down here?” He studied her face carefully. “I’m surprised you didn’t want something in North Carolina, where your folks are. Were you seeing someone living here?”
She did her best to make her laugh sound light and offhand.
“A friend, but not male. This was a lucky break for me, getting the offer to join this firm in Naples. It was too good an offer to pass up. Like I told you on the beach, I was visiting my friend, spending some downtime before lining up interviews. I went to a dinner party with her and her family and met Warren Blake. He said they were looking for new young blood and invited me to his office to interview. I guess it’s true what they say about being in the right place at the right time.”
He studied her face, staring as if he could see inside her. “Are you happy here? What do you do with your life when you aren’t practicing law? Surely that doesn’t take up your time twenty-four seven.”
She waved a hand in a nonchalant gesture. What to tell him? She sure couldn’t share any details of her personal life with him.
“You know what they say. A good lawyer is married to his or her practice. And almost everything I do impacts on my practice one way or another.” She sipped some wine, determined to redirect the conversation. “Anyway, I’m glad Alaska worked out for you just the way you wanted it to. And that success followed you to Atlanta.”
Okay! Could I sound any more fake?
His gaze on her was so intent she thought he could see right through her.
“Forget about that for right now. I’d rather you tell me why the hell you never took my phone calls. Why you changed your cell number. Why you never answered my letters. What the hell, Bailey? We were a lot more than fuck buddies who lived together.”
Okay, then. We’re right into it.
“Fuck buddies? What a romantic way of putting it.”
“Well, what do you expect when you didn’t take it seriously enough to tell me something this enormously important?”
She had to remember this was the hurt talking.
“I was thinking of you.” She twisted the wine glass. “You had this wonderful opportunity to do the thing you loved more than anything in the world, and I knew you had to focus on just that. A wife would have been a distraction to you.”
“A wife would have been wonderful to come home to after every flight. Especially if that wife was you. And who said I loved it more than anything in the world? More than you?”
Bailey distracted herself with another sip of wine and tried to deflect the conversation. “Are you telling me that, in all these years, you never met someone else you wanted to marry? Not one single person?”
He leaned forward. “I told you that on the beach. You were it for me, Bailey. No one else ever came close. You have no idea how insane I was when I couldn’t get in touch with you. Especially when I couldn’t even pry anything out of your mother.”
Bailey had had to do a lot of maneuvering back then, especially after Michael was born. Changing her cell phone number, returning Zack’s letters unopened, getting her parents to tell him when he called their number that she had taken an extended trip and couldn’t be reached—all painful but necessary. She lost count of the number of nights she cried herself to sleep, consoling herself with the thought that she’d done the right thing for Zack. That if he had to give up his dream, it would always be between them. Her parents did what she asked, despite the number of times they tried to convince her how wrong it was.
After a while, the pain subsided to a dull ache, one that had never left her even in all this time. But when Michael was born, he soothed that ache, and so did graduating from law school with honors.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you, but I really did think it was for the best.”
“For who?” he challenged.
“For you. And maybe, after all, for me. Look. You’ve been living your dream in Alaska. I ended up with this great law firm in Naples. That’s about as far from Alaska as you can get. It never would have worked logistically.”
“Excuses, Bailey.” His voice was harsh. “Nothing but excuses. We could have worked it out.”
She shook her head. “I just wanted you to have that chance. Flying meant everything to you.”
Zack’s hand tightened so hard around the wine glass, Bailey was afraid he’d break it.
“You meant everything to me, Bailey. You were my world. Flying was my passion that I wanted to share with you because you were my heart.” He studied her face, his eyes like twin lasers burning into her. “Nothing was as good without you.”
Bailey felt sick. She had been so sure he would find someone else, some woman who would fit into his life in Alaska better than she would. Had she miscalculated so badly? Made the worst mistake of her life? But she’d been twenty years old and had thought she was making the right decision. For Zack. Had it been the right one for Michael? Her son had finally stopped asking who his father was and why she’d never told his father about him, but she wasn’t fooled. One of these days, he’d start digging around. He was a bright guy and could find his way through the Internet.
Lordy!
She was smart enough to graduate twice with honors and become a junior partner in a prestigious law firm. How had she been so stupid and made such a mess of her personal life? Had she really thought she’d never, ever see Zack Elliott again?
“Bailey?” Zack’s voice broke into her mental agony. “Are you okay? You got a strange look on your face all of a sudden.”
“No. No, I’m fine.” She hoped her smile didn’t look as fake as it felt. She lifted her wine glass and took a quick sip. More than a sip.
“I sure wish I’d had the chance to share Alaska with you,” he went on. “It was a great adventure, that’s for sure. And I got to do all the flying I wanted. But it would have been a lot better if you’d been with me.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. Did he just feel that way in retrospect, or had he felt it all along?
He took both her hands in his. “Tell me the truth, Bailey. Was I not enough for you? Was that it?”
“Oh, Zack, no.” Her heart cracked a little. “Don’t ever think that.”
“Let’s find out if the magic is still there. That one kiss, well…”
Holding her hands, he rose, tugged her from the chair, and pulled her in close to his body. She was helpless to resist. The kiss, unlike the earlier one, began soft and sweet, just a touch of lips at first. His mouth was so warm and delicious, just the way she remembered. But heat flashed through every vein at the contact. Something familiar fired low in her belly.
And just like that, the magic slammed back, enveloping them. Despite the span of years, it had never diminished. If anything, the separation had only made it more powerful. What on earth had ever made her believe she’d gotten him out of her system?
He stroked his tongue across her lips, sipping from them, tracing the seam before pressing harder and forcing her mouth open. She welcomed the intrusion, letting her tongue duel with his in a dance so erotic she had to clutch his arms to keep herself steady. He was eager yet, at the same time, gentle.
Lips still fused to hers, he undid the tie of her ponytail and let her hair fall loose, sifting his fingers through it. The kiss went on and on, his tongue rubbing the tender skin inside. Her breasts felt swollen, her nipples so hard she was afraid they’d poke through her T-shirt. Zack slid one big hand down her back, cupping the cheeks of her ass and pulling her tight against him, the thick length of his erection pressing hard against her.
It was still there, the magic she’d never felt with anyone else. Not that she’d tried to, of course. Whenever she looked at another man, all she ever saw was Zack—his masculine body, his square-jawed face, the dark curly hair, and blue eyes the color of the morning sky. The curve of his lips when he smiled.
Oh god!
The walls of her sex throbbed, and she knew her panties had to be soaked, just from this contact. She pressed herself against him as hard as she could, every nerve and particle throbbing with hunger for him, a hunger that had never faded in all these years. Someone moaned softly. And she didn’t know which one of them it was.
How had she ever thought she could walk away from him, shut him out of her life, and never want to be with him again? He owned her heart, and it was time she admitted it to herself. She realized she’d done a terrible thing, something she’d have to finally admit to him. But not right now.
She broke the kiss but not his hold on her. “I-I thought we were going to talk.”
“Talking is highly overrated.” He took her mouth again, this time with a hunger she couldn’t mistake.
In that moment, passion gripping her and her heart thundering, she made a decision. If she was only going to have these couple of days with him, she was going to make the most of it. Then she’d face the difficult decision of whether to tell him about Michael. She wasn’t sure if she even had the courage to face that day of reckoning yet.
I may go to hell for my sins, but if this is all I’ll ever have with him, if it all falls apart afterward, I want this, and I want it now. Call me selfish but I don’t care.
She melted into the kiss, opening her mouth even more, sliding her tongue across his, the taste of him intoxicating. She was sure she could keep kissing him forever, but Zack seemed to have other ideas. He lifted his mouth from hers and looked hard into her eyes, desire burning in his.
“For what I want to do, Bailey, we need to take this inside. If you don’t want this, now’s the time to tell me.”
“I want this.” She whispered the words.
Zack lifted her in his arms. “Then point me to the bedroom.”
She hadn’t forgotten the feel of his body against hers, and the contact letting loose a cascade of memories. When he stood her on her feet beside the bed, she reached up to touch his cheeks, tracing the familiar line of his jaw and his cheekbones.
“I shaved.” There was the tiniest bit of uncertainty in his voice, as if he hadn’t been sure what to expect with her. “Wanted to put my best foot forward.”
“I like your stubble, too” she told him. Then her face heated as new memories hit. Memories of the times they’d made love early in the morning, the scruff of beard dusted on his face rubbing against her cheeks, her breasts, the skin of her thighs. The pulse between her legs started to thunder.
“You have no idea how many nights I dreamed about being with you like this.” His voice was rough with hunger. “Nights when it was so cold it could freeze my nose off, I’d lie in my bed and keep warm by thinking of you. Of being with you. Of touching you.”
He tugged up the T-shirt hem and stroked the smooth skin of her midriff, easing his hands up the satin of her bra. She drew in a breath as his fingers found her nipples through the fabric and gave them a gentle squeeze. The shot of electricity went straight to her core, and she had to squeeze her thighs together to control the pounding of the pulse in her sex. More than two decades faded away, and the desire, the hunger was back as strong as ever.
He took her mouth again, fusing his lips to hers and sweeping his tongue inside. Devouring her. Claiming her. His fingers were hot on her nipples. She wanted to jerk off her bra so there was nothing between his touch and her skin. A faint moan drifted on the air, and she realized it was coming from her.
Zack lifted his mouth from hers, giving her lips a gentle sweep with his tongue.
“You have no idea how many nights I dreamed about this,” he murmured. “Just like this. Us. You and me. All the things we did to pleasure each other.” He nipped her lower lip while still teasing her nipples. “Did you dream about us, Bailey? Don’t lie to me.”
“Yes.” She breathed the word.
“Let’s make some of those dreams come true right now.”
When she nodded, in seconds, he had her bra off and tossed to the side, his lips replacing his fingers on her nipples. His mouth was hot and wet, searing her skin and releasing a flood of desire. Bailey arched into his touch, grabbing the waistband of his jeans to steady herself. Her breasts had always been sensitive, and Zack had learned early on just how to tease them to make her hotter than hot. If he kept this up, she’d come while she was standing here, just like this.
She rocked into him, thrilled at the feel of his thick erection through his jeans and wanting more.
She tugged on his jeans. “Take these off.”
He gave a rough laugh. “Not yet, sweetheart. If I do, this show will be over before it starts. You always just did it for me, Bailey. You know that.”
“But—”
“Hush. Just feel, okay?”
His gaze locked on hers, he unsnapped her jeans and pushed them down. Bailey wriggled her hips so the jeans fell down to her ankles. She kicked off her shoes and stepped out of them, kicking the jeans to the side. When she stood there, naked except for the tiny scrap of bikini panties, Zack stared and sucked in his breath.
“Gorgeous. Still totally gorgeous.”
“I’m a lot older.” She swallowed. “The body’s not quite the same.”
“It’s still beautiful to me.” He stroked his palms down her hips and over her tummy. “It will always be beautiful to me, no matter how old you get.”
She swallowed and closed her eyes, not sure she wanted to see his reaction as he took in every inch of her skin, every dip and swell and curve. When he didn’t move his hands again or say anything, she forced herself to open her eyes and look at him. The mixture of acute hunger, desire, and lust she saw burning there nearly did her in.
“Gorgeous,” he repeated again then dropped to his knees. “A taste. I have to have a taste.”
He nudged her thighs apart, coasting his thumbs gently over her skin before pressing his mouth to her core, panties and all. He stroked the length of her with his hot tongue, pressing the flimsy fabric into her heated, wet flesh. She balanced herself with her hands on his shoulders, fingers digging into muscles harder than granite. She rocked back and forth into the contact, every nerve sparking, pushing herself into his scorching touch.
Without any warning, a tiny orgasm broke over her, barely enough to take the edge off the need bubbling inside her. Zack made a humming sound of satisfaction as he pressed his tongue harder into her slit then sucked the fabric into his mouth.
She was still quivering, still aroused, when he rose, lifted her, and placed her gently on the bed, disposing of her panties and tossing them to the side. He bent her legs at the knees and pressed them apart, staring at her with such hunger it nearly made her heart stop.
“You’re still overdressed.” Her voice sounded so foreign to her, as if someone else was speaking. “Turnabout is fair play.”
“Okay, but don’t blame me if this is over before it barely gets started. I’ve waited too many years for this.”
Bailey shocked herself by saying, “That’s okay. We have all night.”
The look on his face was almost savage. “Yes. We do.”
He shucked his clothes off, and Bailey was mesmerized by the sight of him. His tall frame was packed with sinewy muscles, not the least bit softened by age. The soft curls of dark hair on his chest were still as thick, only now they were sprinkled with the same silver as the hair on his head. Flat stomach, lean hips, and long legs completed the mouthwatering picture. Almost. The finishing touch was the very thick erection jutting from his body and the heavy sac beneath it.
Bailey sat up, pushing herself back against the pillows, and reached out a hand.
“Let me touch, okay?”
“Only a little.” His lips curved in a rueful grin. “Like I said, I’m right on the edge here, Bailey.”
“But you also agreed we’ve got all night. Please, Zack?”
He moved onto the bed, situating himself between her legs and rocking back on his heels. When she wrapped her fingers around his cock, he sucked in a deep breath, and all his muscles tensed.
“Careful,” he warned again.
But it had been so long, she just had to feel him, taste him. His shaft pulsed in her hand as she brushed her tongue lightly over the darkened head, the tip of it catching the bead of fluid sitting right at the top. She hummed in satisfaction as she closed her mouth around his hot flesh, her own body right at the edge again.
“Stop.” Zack thrust his fingers into her hair and tugged her head back. “I can’t wait, Bailey. I have to be inside you.”
He reached over the side of the bed to where he’d dropped his jeans, dug into one of the pockets, and pulled out a string of three condoms.
Bailey’s eyes widened. “Optimistic much?”
“Hopeful.”
He tore off one packet, ripped it open, and, in seconds, was fully sheathed. Positioned between her thighs with the head of his shaft just at her opening, he took one long hard look at her and eased himself inside her.
Oh god!
He filled every one of those spaces that had been empty and craving him for so very long. Her heart pounded, and she clenched her inner muscles around him as tightly as she could, as if she could permanently hold him in place.
Zack braced himself on his forearms for a long moment as they lay there so intimately connected, his blue eyes now darkened to almost navy. She was struck with the sudden thought he could see deep inside her, and it both thrilled and frightened her.
Then he began to move, slowly at first, gaze locked with hers as he kept his in-and-out movement steady. Bailey wound her legs around him, locking her ankles together behind his back, holding him to her as tightly as she could. Their bodies moved together in a rhythm learned long ago but never forgotten. Close to her orgasm, Bailey wanted to hold on to the feeling as long as she could, to perch on the edge of anticipated release. It seemed she had waited so long for this.
But Zack had other ideas.
“I’m barely hanging on here, Bailey. I feel like I’ve been ready for this since the minute I laid eyes on you today.”
“Me, too.”
“I can feel how close you are. Let it go, sweetheart.” Strain etched lines in his face. “Let it go now.”
The orgasm had been steadily building inside her, deep in her body, and spiraling outward. She was shocked she was so close so soon, but it seemed her body had ideas of its own. Zack rocked into her, again and again, each thrust a little harder and deeper until everything inside her rose to the surface.
The orgasm broke over her, shaking her with its intensity, and Zack was right there with her, throbbing hard inside her as if he’d barely been able to wait for this. They clung to each other, hearts thundering, in the aftermath of the shared orgasm. It went on and on until they were wrung dry and the last shudder faded away.
And still they held onto each other, as if letting go was too symbolic. Zack lowered his head to place soft kisses along her jawline and her neck before finally lifting his head.
“Back in a minute.”
He eased himself from her body and climbed off the bed, heading for the bathroom to dispose of the condom. Then he was back, sliding in beside her and spooning his body around hers. She wiggled her rear against him, feeling his cock now soft and limp, nestling against the cheeks of her ass.
He laughed, a low, husky sound. “It’s going to take more than a few seconds for me to be ready to rock and roll again, sweetheart. I’m not the young stud I used to be.”
“You’re not an old man, either,” she teased.
“Still and all, I think I need a little longer to recover.”
So did she, but she wasn’t about to admit it.
Zack banded his arm around her and cupped one breast in a warm palm, the way he used to every night when they climbed into bed. Memories came flooding back to her, memories she’d been doing her best to keep locked away all these years. Memories that made her conflicted again.
She felt the pleasant lassitude that claims you after really, really good sex. It definitely was really good. In the past, they’d sated themselves with each other in an intense orgasm that always left them gasping. Then, refreshed, they would indulge in the long, slow sex that was so intimate she always felt they were one person.
Will that happen here?
Zack had clearly arrived planning to spend the night. Bailey had no idea what came next, with all the challenges swirling around her, but she knew one thing. She’d finally decided to take this one day at a time. She’d probably never see Zack again after his short trip to Florida, so she was going to take every minute with him she could get.
Because she still had no clear idea of what she’d do next.
“Bailey?” He murmured her name against her hair, hugging her closer to his body.
“Mmm?”
“Think about this tomorrow while you’re in your meetings. I love you, and I’m pretty damn sure I always will.”
I love you, too, Zack.
Say it, Bailey.
But she couldn’t get the words out.
“That’s okay. Your body did the talking for you tonight. But before this weekend is over, you’ll say the words out loud.”
And then what, Zack?
It took a long time for her to fall into a troubled sleep.