Four
“We’re turning in. Happy birthday.” Zach offered his brother a hand and Chase shook it, which Penelope found charming though formal. She wondered if those two had ever wrestled or punched each other in the face when growing up, and then figured they probably had. It wasn’t hard to imagine rough and tumble boys beneath their polished exteriors.
“Penelope, make yourself at home,” Chase told her. “My staff will get you whatever you need.”
“I’ll get her what she needs,” Zach said, taking her hand in his. “She’s my fiancée.”
At his offered wink, Pen let herself smile. Zach was a lot of things—more than she knew before she learned he was Chase Ferguson’s brother—but among his top qualities, Zach was fun. Now that Pen had taken him on, she was breaking her cardinal rule of not sleeping with a client. She’d break it this time—if only for him. He made rule-breaking downright delicious. He focused her attention on the present. Which was the exact reason she’d invited him home that night at the club.
An inkling of warning that her ex had cost her everything vibrated at the back of her skull, but the champagne bubbles swimming in her tummy drowned it out.
Her situation with Zach was totally different. The fake fiancée act was a ruse, true, but she couldn’t see a reason not to take advantage of another night with him. He’d been working that angle since he touched her under the table tonight.
Hand in hand they passed by Stefanie, who pushed her lip into an exaggerated pout. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were engaged to this idiot.” Stef shot a thumb toward Zach.
“Your secret-keeping skills are dubious,” he grumbled.
They’d opted not to share the truth with Stefanie—Chase’s idea. He thought it was better if she was in the dark like everyone else.
“You have a lot of secrets lately.” Stef eyed Zach, her mouth pulling at the corners.
“So do you,” he said. “I had no idea you were working with my beautiful fiancée on a cover-up.”
“It wasn’t a cover-up,” Pen interjected before these two sniped away her good mood. “We simply rerouted the public’s attention.”
“Thank you for that.” Stefanie gripped Pen’s arm and squeezed. “In all seriousness, I’m happy for you two.”
“Thanks, sis,” Zach said as a wave of guilt crashed over Penelope. She didn’t mind contorting public opinion but lying to Zach’s sister felt...wrong.
“I’m not staying here tonight,” Stef told them. “I have a date with another of my brother’s mortal enemies.”
Zach’s shoulders went rigid, a wave of heat emanating from his form.
“Just kidding!” Stef’s grin was wide. She bid them good-night and Pen stroked her hand up Zach’s tuxedo jacket to soothe him.
“Down, boy.”
His eyes snapped over to her, the heat there transforming from anger to lust—which was even more sinister.
“Boy?” Zach startled Pen by bending at the knees to lift her into his arms. The few guests left milling about reacted with gasps or soft laughs. Pen, eyes wide, held on to him, her fingers entwining in the thick blond hair at the back of his neck.
“Sounds like you need a reminder from the man who shared your bed a few weeks back.”
His confident smile, strong arms and twinkling green eyes consumed her. She bit down on her lip and remembered all too well the details of that night. Nevertheless, she said, “I could, now that you mention it.”
A smile spread his full lips.
Fake fiancée or not, for her, the attraction part of their relationship was very real. Penelope was going to take advantage of every exciting, promising part of it.
* * *
She barely had a moment to take in her surroundings when Zach’s muscular chest was flush with her back. He swept her hair off her neck and put his lips over her pounding pulse.
“I don’t have an overnight bag,” she breathed, tilting her head to give him better access.
His tongue covered her earlobe before he tugged with his teeth. Goose bumps rose on her skin and she reached up to palm the back of his head.
His mouth was as intoxicating as any liquor, but a thousand times more potent.
“I’ll at least need—” a gasp stole her words as his hand coasted from her waist to the sides of her breasts, teasing her “—a toothbrush,” she finished.
He replied to her complaint by sliding warm fingers over her bare back, then snicking the zipper of her dress down over her backside.
“Gorgeous. Damn, Pen. I love your ass.”
“Likewise.” She managed a breathy laugh and turned in his arms. The way he looked at her made her feel gorgeous. Like she was the only one he wanted in this world.
His fingers pushed into her hair and he cupped the back of her neck, pegging her with a serious green stare. “Tell me the truth.”
“About?” She raised her eyebrows in curiosity.
“Have you thought of me in the past few weeks?”
“Yes.”
Zach’s palm warmed her neck and shifted upward until he cradled the back of her skull. He dipped his head but didn’t kiss her, continuing his interrogation.
“Tell me what you thought about, Penelope Brand.” His dimple dented one cheek when he offered a lopsided smile. “In graphic detail.”
It was a smile she couldn’t help returning. Her hands fisting the material of his shirt, she yanked it from his pants and stroked her hands along his hot, golden skin.
“You first,” she whispered a hairsbreadth away from his lips.
She’d meant to be cute, but Zach’s smile vanished. His other hand went to her back and, pressing her until her breasts flattened against his chest, he answered her.
“Every morning since I walked out of your apartment, I wake up hard and ready. The woman in my head missing her clothes has blond hair, pale blue eyes and your name.”
His pupils dilated, the black darkening his surrounding green irises. “Your turn.”
She remembered lots of things. The way he moved over her, the way he filled her, consumed her, during their lovemaking. But mostly the way he laughed and made her life fun for that slice of time.
He made her forget her obligations or the fact that she’d once let a man trample over her business and her good sense. Zach made her feel beautiful and cherished and hot. Really freaking hot.
“I remember,” she started, tugging at his black leather belt, “your face when you came.” She unfastened his pants and slipped her hand inside, gliding her palm along the thick ridge of his erection.
Zach’s nostrils flared, his hands rerouting to her hips and digging in for purchase.
“You looked a lot like you do right now.” She massaged his manhood, tipping her chin to swipe her tongue along his bottom lip. That lip tasted like she remembered—warm and firm and laced with desire. “In control but in danger of losing it.”
She’d meant to spur him on. He didn’t disappoint.
He reached for the skirt of her dress and peeled it past her hips and stomach and over her head. He tossed it inside out to the floor.
“I’m in no danger of losing control, Ms. Brand,” Zach informed her, his lazy Texas drawl intensifying. “But you are.”
Her white lace bra was the next article of clothing to get the heave-ho. He disarmed the strap so quickly that in a blink both her breasts were bare, her nipples standing up, begging for his attention.
Attention they got.
Zach’s arms looped her back and Pen had to move both hands to his shoulders when he dropped his mouth to sample a breast. His tongue swirled and suckled and she let her head fall back, losing herself in the moment. That was what he did to her—made her live in the right now and not beyond.
Who could resist?
He backed her across the room and she went, turning to take in the bed they were about to make very good use of. The regal four-poster frame reached for the ceiling above a pile of gold-and-maroon bedding and pillows fit for royalty.
Thighs against hers, Zach walked her two steps until her butt collided with the mattress. She sat, eyes tipped to his. He stood looking down at her, shirt untucked, pants open, eyes aflame.
“Damn, I don’t know what to do first.”
“I do.” Pen reached for his cock again but Zach snatched her hand.
“Not that.” His smirk was confident when he hooked his fingers into her panties and swept them off her legs. At her ankles, he paused, watching her as he tossed one of her tall shoes over his shoulder, then the other. The scrap of silk went next. With a tip of his chin, he said, “Scoot.”
She did, naked and so excited she wondered if he could see the shake in her arms as she settled herself on the middle of the bed.
He unbuttoned his tuxedo shirt, his eyes taking inventory of her like she was his next meal. Shirt discarded, he pushed his pants and briefs to his ankles, kicking off his shoes and socks in the process.
Penelope had to struggle not to drool.
Zach’s lean, muscular chest was as mouthwatering as in her memory, the scant bit of chest hair whirling around two flat brown nipples. His erection jutted proudly between slim hips, which gave way to thick thighs. She realized she’d become lost staring at his body and quickly jerked her attention to his face.
Didn’t help.
His body was to die for, but the real panty-melter was the dimple indenting one cheek when he smiled. His jaw was firm and strong, at odds with the playful twinkle in his eyes. Some might say his hair was in need of a trim, but Pen preferred the longish style. Especially when he braced himself over her and a thick lock fell rakishly over his forehead.
One knee depressed the mattress, then another. Her mouth dropped open when he lowered his head to her stomach and swiped her belly button with the tip of his tongue.
Flames licked her core. This was the treat she’d enjoyed most with him, and when he dragged his tongue an inch lower on her tummy, a high-pitched gasp betrayed her.
“That’s what I like to hear.” He hoisted a brow as he pulled her knees apart and settled between her thighs. “Be as loud as you want. No one stays in this part of the house, but if they do, I want them to know exactly why you agreed to marry me.”
“Your money?” Pen teased to break the thick band of sexual tension strangling her.
“Oh, you’ll pay for that.” He didn’t offer another teasing lick, but buried his face between her thighs and doled out the promised punishment.
She took every lash she was owed, her fists mangling the duvet, her head thrashing on the pillows that one by one met their final resting places on the floor.
He wrung an orgasm from her without trying, and two more when he stepped up his game.
Panting, delirious with pleasure, Pen lazily opened her eyelids when he began climbing her body. Zach’s lips coasted over her ribs, breasts and to her neck where he bit her earlobe.
“Still on the pill?” His heated breath coated her ear.
“Yes.” She gripped his biceps, anticipation wriggling within. She wanted him. Now. Hell, five minutes ago.
He positioned his hips over hers, his erection pressing into her pelvis and so very close to home.
“Have you been with anyone since our night together?”
The question pulled her out of the moment and she frowned ever so briefly.
“I haven’t, Pen,” he told her, sincerity on his face. “Unless you count my hand and a few showers where I tried to erase the memory of you.”
He’d...thought about her. He was telling the truth.
Firm lips coasted over hers and a whisper of breath coated her mouth when he asked for her answer again.
“Have you?”
“No,” she answered.
She was rewarded with the roll of Zach’s hips and the feel of him sliding deep, overtaking her, filling her like she remembered.
His low groan reverberated against her breasts as she clung to his back, their bodies sealed by a thin layer of sweat.
He uttered a harsh curse that sounded a lot like a compliment before pushing his fingers into her hair and focusing his eyes on hers.
“You’re mine, Pen.”
Her eyes went to the bracelet sliding up her wrist when she looped her arms at his neck. The letter F dangling there like a brand.
“Say it,” he demanded, claiming her with another deep thrust.
“I’m yours.”
Another thrust had her pulse thrumming anew between her legs.
“Whose?” he growled, picking up the pace. All of her overheated. She knew what he was asking. Knew what he wanted. Pen threw her head back and gave him the answer he’d earned.
“Yours.”
“Say my name, beautiful.”
She did, on a shout. “Zach!”
The slide of his body against hers, the feel of his breath in her ear, the heat of his mouth on hers took her to new heights.
On another cry, she came again, and one more thrust brought forth his release. Sobering from her own tumble down Mount Orgasm, Pen watched Zach’s face contort into pleats of pleasure. The way his eyes squeezed closed, his lips peeled back from his teeth while his powerful body shook.
The almost surprised expression and awestruck wonder in his eyes.
He watched her for the space of a few heartbeats and then a familiar smile crested his handsome face.
She returned it, equally awestruck. Equally pleased.