You are safe here...
Celine thought about what Zion had said as he pulled his vehicle into the circular driveway, brought the SUV to a stop and got out. Was she really safe here? Possibly from those men trying to find her, but what about from him? Even if he banished her to another wing in this monstrosity of a house, they would still be under the same roof.
She unsnapped her seat belt when he opened the car door for her. Reaching out, he took hold of her hand to help her from the vehicle, and the instant he did so, her stomach muscles tightened and a jolt of electricity zapped her.
She’d glanced up into his eyes and knew from the way he was staring back at her that he had experienced the sensations, as well. The mutual feelings were so overwhelming, they stood there staring at each other for a long moment before he said, “Welcome to my country home, Celine.”
She smiled. “Thank you, Zion.”
“Let’s get you inside.” With his palm at the center of her back, he guided her toward the huge front door. The feel of his hand on her seemed to burn her skin, until he removed it to open the door. She released the breath she’d been holding. Then he moved aside for her to step over the threshold. She’d always thought her father’s home was beautiful, but this had a jaw-dropping appeal.
“I’ll bring in your luggage.”
He left her alone and she continued to glance around, admiring the structure, architecture and decor. The beauty of it all nearly overwhelmed her, and she shook her head at the thought that all this was just for one man. A man who had no intention of ever marrying or having a family. A man who was a renowned jeweler by trade and a loner by choice.
“I’ll take these up to the guest room I think would be perfect for you to use,” he said, returning with her bags. She had a hunch it would be as far away from his bedroom as possible.
“Thanks,” she said, then added, “and you have a beautiful home, Zion.”
“Thank you. I’ll show you around when I get back.”
She watched him head for the staircase with her luggage and then thought of something. “Zion?”
He turned and lifted a brow. “Yes?”
“Did you bring your burner phone? There are a couple of people I need to call.”
“A couple of people?”
She saw the inquisitiveness in his eyes and said, “Yes. One is my best friend, Desha. I was supposed to return home today and she will wonder why I didn’t. I don’t want her to worry. And the other person is another friend of mine.”
There was no need to tell him about Stuart Mosely, the person in charge of operations at Second Chances. There was an executive meeting scheduled for this week. Instead of canceling it, she wanted the meeting to go on without her.
Zion pulled the phone out of his back pocket and passed it to her. The moment their hands touched it was as if a torch was lit and fire ignited into flames. The next thing she knew, Zion pulled her into his arms, crushing her against him and devouring her mouth.
Without missing a beat, her body responded. Immediately, she kissed him just as greedily as he did her. She could honestly admit she wanted this kiss. She needed it. It was something she had dreamed of over the past month, and now that she had the chance, she had no intention of letting this opportunity pass by without seizing the moment.
She had shared kisses with men before, but none provided the excitement and pleasure that kissing Zion always gave her. She was convinced she was becoming addicted to his taste. That was the only way she could explain why she was as much into this kiss as he was. Why she was allowing his hands to roam all over her while he held her mouth captive, and why the feel of his hard erection pressing against her was really getting to her where it counted.
As if of their own volition, her hips began gyrating against him, and it felt as if his erection suddenly got harder and fuller, even more massive.
Suddenly, the sound of a grandfather clock marking the noon hour with a succession of loud chimes echoed throughout the room. Zion slowly ended the kiss, taking his time before separating their mouths. Then he gave her lips a lingering lick before saying, “We arrived in time for lunch.”
“Yes, we did.” She licked her own lips, not caring it was sending out the message that she’d enjoyed their kiss. She didn’t care, because she had enjoyed it.
He was staring hard at her mouth, and knowing he was doing so made the pulse at the base of her throat throb. “If you let me know where I’ll be sleeping tonight, I can get settled. I would love for you to show me around later.”
It was then that he dropped his hands from around her waist and took a step back. Immediately, she missed the warmth and hardness of the body that had been pressing close to hers. “And I want to show you around. Come on. Let’s go up the stairs,” he said, grabbing hold of her luggage again.
He led the way and she followed. They passed a bedroom with huge double doors, and Celine figured it was his. Instead of banishing her to another wing like she’d figured he would, he was planting her right across the hall from him.
They entered the bedroom and she glanced around, appreciating its beauty. There was a large window that overlooked a tennis court below and a huge lake out back. She looked over at Zion and it was easy to see his erection hadn’t gone down yet. Focusing on his face and not the lower part of his body, she said, “This is a beautiful room, Zion.”
He nodded. “Thanks. I figured you would appreciate this one over any of the others because of the view. However, if you see another guest room you prefer while we’re touring, just let me know.”
Celine doubted that would be happening. The main reason she liked this room was because his bedroom was right across the hall. She switched her gaze from the view out the window to where Zion was standing with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. “I love this room and see no reason I won’t be satisfied sleeping here.”
He nodded. “I’ll leave you to get settled and to make those calls. When you finish you can join me downstairs. I’ll take you on a tour before we do lunch.”
“All right.”
When he closed the door behind him, she released a deep sigh. She’d been in Zion’s home less than ten minutes and already they’d shared a kiss that still had her heart pounding. She had a feeling that had just been the beginning.
* * *
As Zion walked down the stairs, he wondered why he was letting Celine Michaels get to him. First of all, she was invading his space, although he’d denied to her that she was doing so. A woman or two might have gotten invited to his condo, but he didn’t bring any women here.
More than one had called him an ass for the way he would turn off passion once he was certain they’d both been satisfied. Zion had no desire to cuddle after sex. After the lovemaking ended he felt it was time for his bed partner to leave if they were at his place, or for him to haul ass if he was at hers. As a rule, he didn’t spend the entire night with a woman, and didn’t invite one to spend an entire night with him. That was the way he operated, and he had no intention of changing.
His godbrothers figured he was that way because of the one time he’d dozed off after having sex, only to wake up and find the woman searching his room as if she thought he’d have a piece of jewelry lying around with her name on it. That wasn’t it, and he’d told them that more than once. Yet they remained optimistic that his attitude regarding women would eventually change. He knew for certain it wouldn’t.
The moment he entered his kitchen he started the coffee maker, loving the smell of fresh coffee brewing.
A short while later he was just about to take a sip when Celine entered. The cup froze halfway to his lips when he glanced up and saw her waltzing into his kitchen like she belonged there. He wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about that.
“Would you like some coffee?” he asked, pushing the troubling thought to the back of his mind.
“Yes, please.”
He didn’t have to ask her how she liked her coffee, since he remembered from that morning at breakfast. But pouring the coffee did little to take his mind off how she looked standing in the middle of his kitchen. He’d liked the outfit she was wearing this morning and liked it more on her now. The long, flowing skirt swished around her booted legs when she walked. And he wasn’t imagining it; there was definitely an erotic sway to her hips as she came to stand in front of him. He quickly fought for control of his rapid breathing and heartbeat.
“I’m returning your burner phone,” she said, placing it on the counter instead of putting it in his hand. They both knew why she’d decided to do that.
“I trust you made your calls.”
“Yes. Thanks for letting me use it.”
“You’re welcome.”
Instead of following her lead and placing the coffee cup on the counter beside the burner phone, he handed it to her. “Here you are.”
He watched her draw in a deep breath before reaching for the mug. “Stop being hard on yourself, Celine,” he said. “It is what it is and neither of us can do anything about it.”
Their fingers brushed and the desire that flashed in her eyes made his heart race. No man should want a woman as much as he wanted her, and knowing the yearning was mutual didn’t help matters.
He took a sip of his coffee and, over the rim of his cup, watched her take a drink of hers. He hadn’t known until that morning at breakfast that observing a woman drinking coffee could be arousing. But it was more than just the way her lips were fitting on her cup. It was also her scent and the way she was looking at him.
“Mmm, this is good,” she said, licking her lips. She’d done the same thing after their kiss, which meant she’d thought their kiss had been good, as well.
“Glad you like it.” He checked his watch and then looked back at her. “Ready for that tour?”
She nodded. “Yes, I’m ready.”
He started downstairs, showing her the guest room on the main floor, as well as the dining room and living room that she’d seen earlier. What she hadn’t seen was the indoor pool and spa, as well as the glassed-in, climate-controlled patio.
On the second floor, in addition to Zion’s bedroom, which he merely pointed out but didn’t take her into, were two other guest rooms, each with their own exquisite bath, and a movie theater. The third floor jutted out into wings, with two additional guest bedroom suites in each. There was also a game room up there, with a huge pool table in the center.
“You entertain a lot, I take it?”
“No. As I mentioned earlier, I like solitude. However, my godbrothers and godparents come visit on occasion.” There was no need to tell her that when he’d first moved to Rome they’d done so rather frequently. He’d always been glad to see everyone, but knew the visits had mainly been to check on him. His godparents couldn’t understand why he’d moved so far from home, and his godbrothers were concerned about his state of mind.
“Now to give you a tour of the outside. You might want to grab a jacket, given that the temperature has dropped since we got here. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”
“All right.”
He was standing at the bottom of the steps when she came down a little later, carrying a short, black leather jacket. He released a drawn-out sigh. How long would it take for him not to get turned on just looking at her?
He was tempted to take her hand as he led her toward the door, but refrained from doing so. There was no need to throw grease onto an already-blazing flame. Instead, they walked side by side through his flower garden.
“The flowers are beautiful. How do you get them to bloom during the winter months?”
He glanced at his flower beds filled with camellias, azaleas and roses. “That’s one of the things I found fascinating about living in this region of Italy. Flowers tend to bloom all twelve months of the year. It has something to do with the humid continental climate that’s found up here in the hills and mountains. I think of it as one of nature’s wonders.”
They continued walking through the flower gardens to an area in the back where a huge waterfall was located. “This was one of the reasons I bought this house. I was sold the moment I saw this,” he said, coming to a stop in front of the fall.
“I can see why. It’s beautiful. I can envision coming out here every morning and sitting over there to drink my coffee. I would find it so relaxing.”
He did, too. Not only did he often drink his coffee out here, but on occasion he ate meals here, as well. There was something about the sound of rushing water that soothed any turbulence flowing through him. Too bad it wasn’t doing anything about the sexual desire consuming him. He just didn’t understand it. He’d never been this taken with a woman. Never been this physically attracted to one.
Deciding it was best if they kept moving, he led her down several steps into a courtyard. He stopped and pointed to a smaller two-story house. “That’s where I make my jewelry. I converted that cottage into a workplace.”
“It’s massive.”
“I need the space for my shop and lab. There’s a small kitchen, and also a bedroom and full bath on the second floor to use if I’m working late and just want to crash there.”
“You work alone?”
“Yes, and I prefer it that way.”
“Isn’t that time-consuming?”
“Yes, but I don’t overextend myself. At least not now. I admit in the beginning, when orders began rolling in, I was so excited that I continuously burned the midnight oil trying to fill them. But I refused to focus on quantity instead of quality and had to cut back. Now I’m working at a pace I’m satisfied with.”
He checked his watch. “Are you ready for lunch?”
She met his gaze and nodded. “Yes, I’m ready, but only if you let me do the honors. I might not be the cook you are, but there are a few specialty dishes I can prepare. And since it’s past lunchtime, we can consider this an early dinner.”
Other than his godmothers when they’d come to visit, no women had ever taken control of his kitchen. He wasn’t sure how he felt about one doing so now. Since she’d made the offer, though, he couldn’t really turn her down without a legitimate reason, so he decided to go with the flow. “My kitchen is all yours.”
Zion realized he’d just spoken words to her that he’d never intended to say to any woman.