CHAPTER FIVE
Zack Howell glanced away from his laptop when he heard his PA arrive at her desk. Renee always arrived at nine o’clock sharp. Despite him telling her that she could come in a little later today since it was a Saturday, she was here at nine on the dot.
Zack smiled to himself. Renee was the best PA he’d ever had. She was smart and efficient, and she got things done with minimum fuss. She got along with everyone in the office but she never indulged in office gossip.
Zack paid all his staff well, but he also worked them very hard. When there were deadlines to be met, he expected everyone to pull their weight. His staff sometimes came in on weekends when there was really urgent work to be finished, and Zack appreciated the effort and dedication of his staff.
But Renee worked almost every weekend. He wasn’t being fair to her, but it was the only way he could see her over the weekend. She kept her distance from him, and unlike all the previous PAs that he’d hired and fired, she never once tried to flirt with him or pry into his personal life.
He had tried to ask her out for dinner, but the woman had declined politely but firmly. She seemed determined to keep their relationship strictly professional.
Zack should be happy. He never liked blurring the lines between his professional and personal lives. He never dated or fucked any of his employees or business associates. Things would just get messy and end badly for everyone involved.
But Renee...he’d wanted her the moment he laid his eyes on her.
For her, he would break all his own goddamn rules.
At the interview, she had been nervous and reserved. She had worked as a PA before, and she had glowing testimonials from her previous bosses. When Zack asked her why she’d left her previous job, she had told him that she wanted a change. She changed job and changed residence.
“I got divorced,” she’d blurted out. It was the only piece of personal information that she’d volunteered at the interview.
Zack had seen her lift her chin and straighten her spine when she announced her divorce. He realized that the divorce had done some damage to her self-esteem and she was trying to reclaim her pride, self-worth and self-respect. She wanted not just a new job, but a new life.
Zack had hired Renee on the spot. It was the best thing he had ever done.
But as much as he valued her as a PA, he also wanted her and desired her as a woman. Zack had been stunned at his own powerful attraction to Renee. And his desire and lust for her hadn’t waned. He thought that seeing her every day would dull his interest in her. After all, he never dated a woman for more than two weeks. He didn’t want to lead the women on, and he wasn’t interested in them outside the bedroom.
Six months.
Renee had been working for him for six months now, and he wanted her more than ever. In fact, she was the only woman he wanted. Ever since he met her, he hadn’t touched any other female.
God, he was out of his mind.
He was lusting after his PA. Every time she walked into his office, he had to resist the urge to grab her and bend her over his desk. Those tight pencil skirts she wore weren’t helping. They accentuated her full, generous hips and round buttocks. Her prim blouses were always buttoned right up to the collar but he could see her ample breasts straining against the soft fabric.
He’d never wanted a woman so badly.
Renee had been hurt and betrayed, before. He could see it in her eyes and hear it in her clipped, guarded tones. He would have to play it slow.
But lately, he sensed a subtle change in his uptight, aloof PA. Renee probably didn’t know that he could scent her arousal. She would be mortified and embarrassed if she knew.
But Zack could scent the moisture between her luscious legs whenever he stood near her.
And her scent was driving him crazy.
His bear went wild at her scent. Renee was blissfully unaware that she was tormenting him out of his mind. His bear wanted to rip out of his skin and mount her on the spot.
Six goddamn months! He had gone without sex for half a year. He needed to get laid, but the trouble was, the thought of touching any other woman simply repulsed him.
He wanted only Renee.
He tried. He did try to get her out of his mind and his system. He went out and partied, and he flirted shamelessly with a sexy, sultry starlet.
But when he took her to a hotel room, he found he just couldn’t take her to bed. His bear wouldn’t let him. His raging beast became even angrier and in the end, Zack had to leave the room before the crazed animal trashed the entire room. He had left the bewildered, offended starlet in the room and simply left.
Zack went to the gym almost every morning to work off his frustration and excess energy before coming to work. He worked harder and longer than ever, but seeing Renee every day only made him more hungry for her. He called her into the office every chance he got.
He sometimes snapped at her or made her redo a piece of work just to get a rise out of her. Renee had managed to maintain her distance and cool, detached demeanor for the first few months.
But he was wearing down her defenses. She wasn’t unaffected by him.
Just last week, when he leaned across the desk and the back of their hands touched briefly, he had heard the tiniest whimper escape from her. The sweet scent of her juices drenching her panties almost made his eyes cross.
Just how much longer could they resist each other?