Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
Beneath my bikini top, my nipples strained and my heart missed a dozen beats. The mere sound of him made heat swirl inside my stomach.
Still, I refused to show him how happy I was that he’d returned.
“What are you doing out here? It’s freezing.”
Is it? I can’t feel much of anything other than my desire for you.
“Do you want to catch pneumonia?” he growled.
“You’re not my parent.”
“No, but I’m the closest thing to a family you have right now.” His voice softened. “Look at me.”
I opened my eyes.
He was painful to look at. Too beautiful, with his raven hair and tar eyes and devastating bone structure.
“Where have you been?” I couldn’t keep the bite out of my voice.
Zach treaded toward me, dripping power and wealth in dark gray slacks and a navy cashmere sweater tucked under a black peacoat.
“I had some meetings in D.C.” He shoved his hands deep inside his pockets, his eyes roaming my body.
“At eleven at night?”
Not your business, I reminded myself.
I had to stop.
I needed to stop.
Since when was I a clingy girlfriend?
“Spent the rest of my time driving around,” Zach admitted, stopping when he got to the edge of the pool, only a few feet away.
I’d expected hunger in his eyes. Instead, I saw concern. A dangerous emotion that had no place in our arrangement.
I arched a brow, trying to remain unaffected. “In your secured car?”
His lips quirked a little. “In a normal BMW.”
“Living on the edge.”
“Yes, whenever I’m certain you aren’t there to push me off the cliff.” He paused. “I had to think.”
“Oh?” Foolish, idiotic hope flowered in my chest. I wanted him to say, about you, about us. “That’s a new concept. You know you can do it anywhere, right? Even from the comfort of your home.”
“Octi,” he warned.
“Tell me what you thought about.”
“Mainly about the timeline of my impending marriage. How it fits with my business schedule. I’m currently acquiring a few tech companies that will demand my attention as I reconstruct their boards.”
I nodded, pretending his answer didn’t cut through flesh and bone. “Time management is important. You’re lucky to have Natalie.”
“I don’t wish to talk about Natalie or any other woman in my life.”
He looked so miserable, and for a single moment, I actually welcomed his pain.
Why should I be the only one to suffer?
“What do you wish for, then?”
“For you to come upstairs, take a hot bath, and get into at least three layers of clothes before I lose my fucking mind.”
“I think I’m good here.” I knew I was punishing no one but myself, and still, I wanted to act out. To flip him the bird.
His fingers twitched by his side, his patience melting away. “Your lips are blue.”
“Your heart is black.”
“Farrow,” he growled, baring his teeth at me. “Come here right this minute. It’s winter. You’re going to end up in the hospital at this rate.”
“What a terrible inconvenience.”
“Farrow.”
“If you care so much, come pick me up.”
To my surprise, Zach’s face didn’t even twitch. He stepped onto the first pool stair, ankle-deep in water, and began treading toward the lounger.
When he reached me, he shouldered off his coat and picked me up bridal style, wrapping the heavy fabric around me. Woodsy citrus swarmed me, warming up my body in an instant.
On instinct, I wanted to wind my arms around his neck. Instead, I pretended to stare at something behind him, feigning a yawn.
To my chagrin, his lips twitched.
“What’s so funny?”
He strode out of the pool, pushing through the weight of the water as he carried me toward the house.
“You.” His eyes didn’t waver from mine for one second.
“I entertain you?”
“You please me.”
“Well, you happen to displease me.”
Telltale heat swept up my cheeks. I looked away, toward the house lights, to stop myself from kissing him.
“Did you know that the octopus perishes after it mates? The species exercises external fertilization.” He tightened his grip on me. “Several males either insert their spermatophores into the female or hand her the sperm. Then, the males leave to die. The female lays the eggs. Once those hatch, her body suffers ‘cellular suicide,’ starting from the optic glands.”
I almost snorted. “Zachary Sun.”
“Yes, Farrow Ballantine?”
“Your dirty talk is one of the worst I’ve encountered.”
He laughed, his chest vibrating and rumbling against me.
I rested my cheek against him. “So, what you’re saying is that consummating our attraction will end in death?”
He pushed the balcony doors open and took the stairway to the second floor. “What I’m saying is—desire is a messy business, especially for intelligent creatures.”
“But?”
“But it’s worth it.”
He carried me to his bedroom, where he laid me on the bed before proceeding to his bathroom.
The sound of water hitting his massive claw tub traveled toward me. Lavender filled the air.
A bath bomb.
He hated scented products.
Zach turned off the faucet and approached me, his slacks still drenched with pool water.