Zion glanced over at the clock. It was past midnight and here he was, prowling around his bedroom, unable to sleep. He should never have let Celine spend the night in his bed. Even after a week her scent was still everywhere. In his bedcovers. In his room. He’d thought the memories would be comforting, but he’d discovered they were torturing him.
The courier had come yesterday to pick up the package that would be hand-delivered to Levy Michaels’s representative, who’d arrived at the airport that morning. Zion had spoken to Levy two days ago and the arrangements had been made. He had been tempted to ask about Celine, but hadn’t. Nor had he turned on his television to see what was going on with her. And he hadn’t gone anyplace tabloids were sold.
But he couldn’t help wondering if she had stood her ground with her father or if she had gone back to being under his thumb. Was Nikon still claiming the two of them were engaged? And why on earth did Zion give a damn?
And why hadn’t he been able to sleep for a week for thinking of her? Reliving their nights together. Their days. Even those looks they’d given each other when neither thought the other had noticed. The innocent touches, as well as the not-so-innocent ones.
And why had putting her in that private car that had come to pick her up a week ago been the hardest thing he’d ever done? They had kissed goodbye and it had taken the driver several honks of his horn to make them step out of each other’s arms.
One thing he felt pretty good about was knowing that the same blood-burning desire that had consumed him while she’d been here had consumed her, as well. She hadn’t denied it, nor had she tried fighting it. And at no time had she tried putting distance between them like he’d done. She had accepted it and had been willing to give him time to accept it, too. And she hadn’t pushed him into anything. Even a night spent in his bed. It had been something he’d wanted to happen. Something he had needed to happen.
More than anything he couldn’t forget their lovemaking. With Celine he had encountered emotions he’d never had to deal with before. Strong emotions. Overwhelming emotions. Emotions that even now were shaking him to the core.
Nor had he forgotten the words she’d spoken before leaving... “I don’t know about the woman who broke your heart, Zion, but the pain is keeping you from ever loving another. At some point I hope you discover that what you have bottled up inside of you is wasted energy. And it’s negative. Replace it with positive energy and then make it useful. That’s the only way your heart will heal.”
For years he hadn’t wanted his heart to heal. But what about now? Had he met someone who’d made the healing possible? Someone who made him want to get rid of all that wasted energy? All the negativity?
Someone who gave him a reason to stop running?
For years he’d thought himself incapable of displaying such heartfelt emotions for a woman. But thanks to Celine he was now feeling them, whether he wanted to or not. And the feelings were deep, deeper than anything he’d ever felt before. Why was he willing to let it be wasted energy?
Suddenly, it occurred to him that the emotion he was feeling wasn’t lust, as he’d assumed. It was something a lot more meaningful, stronger and more potent. Heat suddenly began engulfing him. Heat and something else. Emotions were bombarding him, fighting within him. Negative versus positive. Which one would he allow to win?
He drew in a deep breath while thinking he wanted Celine in a bad way, but not just sexually. There was pleasure and then there was an even deeper pleasure in knowing you could care enough for a woman to want to make a difference in your life and in hers.
It was hard to believe that he, of all people, the last member of the Guarded Hearts Club, was finally seeing what all his godbrothers had already seen. Love in all its splendorous colors. He’d discovered that there was indeed a woman out there who could make him look at things differently. A woman who made him totally aware, sensuously and otherwise, that he wasn’t meant to be alone.
The bottom line was that he had fallen in love with Celine.
When it had happened, he wasn’t absolutely sure. It could have been back in LA when they’d gone to that escape room, or even before that when he’d first laid eyes on her on the stairs. Or maybe it had happened the night she’d shown up at his condo, after successfully escaping from her kidnapper. It didn’t matter when it had happened, exactly; the important thing was that it had.
However, there was the biting possibility that she didn’t feel the same emotions for him that he felt for her. But as far as he was concerned, if she could do the impossible and make him fall in love with her, then he could certainly do the same and persuade her to fall in love with him.
Before that, though, there was something he had to do, which was to bring closure to what had had him on the run for all these years. It was time he faced the truth, whatever it was, and time he told his father why he’d left the States to move to Rome. His dad had a right to know, and they would handle it together. Zion believed that no matter who his biological father might be, he would always be Langren Blackstone’s son. In his heart he believed his father would feel the same way.
After he found closure with his father, Zion planned to go to LA and visit Celine. She’d invited him to do so, but at the time he hadn’t been ready to accept her invitation. Now he was.
A crackle of energy passed through him and he knew that he was no longer bound by any rules of his own making. He was now a bachelor unbound and he hoped she was ready for the likes of him.
Leaving his place at the window, he slid into his jeans. Since he wasn’t sleepy he wanted to get started making a special piece of gemstone for a certain lady. The woman who’d captured his heart. It would be the most important jewelry he’d ever created.
* * *
Celine smiled at Desha. They were finishing up dinner at her favorite restaurant, Andrew’s. She had been back in LA for a week and this was the first time she and her best friend had a chance to spend together. First, she had moved out of her father’s home. Then word had quickly spread that she was the CEO of Second Chances. The media were clamoring for interviews, trying to find out how she’d kept it a secret for so long. Of course, when they’d contacted her father, he’d pretended to have known all along, refusing to let word get out that she’d kept it from him, as well.
After she filled in her friend on those happenings, they spent the rest of the dinner talking about Zion.
“So there you have it, Desha,” she said, as she sat back after confiding everything. “I’m in love.”
Desha grinned. “I can see you falling in love with Zion Blackstone. The man is hot.”
Celine nodded. “I wanted to tell you I was with him in Rome and why, but couldn’t. You would have been the first person my dad contacted about my whereabouts, and I didn’t want to put you in the middle of anything.”
“No problem, and you’re right. When you didn’t tell him where you were he began blowing up my phone. I ignored his calls at first because I figured he was the reason you had extended your stay in Rome. That he probably wanted you to do something you didn’t want to do, and you were avoiding him. When he kept calling, I finally answered and told him that although I didn’t know where you were, you had contacted me to let me know you had decided to extend your time in Rome and that you were okay. I had no idea you were in hiding and he was concerned about you.”
Celine rolled her eyes. “He was so concerned with my well-being that he was willing to stage my kidnapping. I’m still upset with him about that.”
Desha nodded. “I can’t blame you. And I saw the headlines in this morning’s paper. You coming out and making a statement that you and Nikon were not engaged and had never been engaged...well, that pretty much called him a liar.”
“His problem and not mine.”
“Have you heard from Nikon since returning to town?”
Celine took a sip of wine. “He had been blowing up my phone, so I blocked his calls.”
“What about Zion? Have you heard from him?”
Celine shook her head sadly. “No, and I don’t expect to. I fell in love with him but he didn’t fall in love with me. But it doesn’t matter. The time I spent with him was special and I will forever have my memories.”
“Now who’s the liar? It does matter and you know it. This is the first time you’ve admitted to loving anyone since Jerome. I think you should have told Zion how you felt.”
“Doing so would not have served any purpose, Desha. I knew all about his rules.”
“But he broke a few for you, right?”
“Yes, but I’m sure he’s regretting doing so now,” Celine said, taking another sip of her wine.
“What about your father? Is he still mad at you for moving out?”
“Yes. He won’t take my calls, and I’m sure after today’s headlines he’s more angry than ever. I’m happy living in my own place and that’s what matters. My happiness. I allowed him to manipulate me for too long.”
A short while later, as Desha and Celine were leaving Andrew’s, seemingly out of nowhere they were bombarded by paparazzi. Cameras flashed and reporters hollered out questions to Celine, all talking at once.
“Ms. Michaels, is it true that your father and Nikon Anastas arranged for you to be kidnapped to boost their star-power ratings?”
Celine frowned as she kept walking, trying to ignore the mikes being shoved in her face and the cameras flashing in her eyes. “No comment.”
“And what about the speculation that you were a part of the plan and hadn’t been kidnapped at all?”
Celine slowed her pace for a second, but kept walking, while Desha kept a tight grip on her hand, pulling her on. She wondered if that was the lie those two kidnappers who’d been charged were saying in their defense.
“According to your father, you weren’t a part of their plan and you were somewhere hiding out for your safety,” said another reporter. “If so, where were you?”
When they reached her car, Desha took the keys from Celine. “Get in,” she said. “I’ll drive.”
Celine was grateful for that, and once she and Desha were in the car with seat belts in place, they sped off.