ignored the flash of irritation in his eyes and tried to focus on her happy place, which at present was the bland fence that encircled the parking lot. “Nothing. I need some processing time.”
He actually had the gall to pinch the bridge of his nose as if he was under extreme stress. “This would be a feminine thing.”
Her gaze clashed with his and the fact that she had not only made love with Zane a number of times but was actually considering canceling the series of blind dates she had set up for next week, for him, hit her forcibly.
She stared at the masculine planes of his face, the narrowed eyes and tough jaw, the moment of disorientation growing.
He was too wealthy, too attractive and too used to getting exactly what he wanted. The wild fling had been a mistake. She must have been out of her mind thinking that she could ever control any part of a relationship with Zane. “We’ve had the two days, it has to be over.”
His brows jerked together. “We could spend a few more days together. I know you have vacation time coming up, but you don’t fly back to Sydney until the end of next week.”
She felt her brain scramble. “An affair wasn’t on my priority list. I have things to do—”
“Like checking out online marriage prospects.”
There was a ringing silence. “I don’t know how you knew that, but yes.”
“Stay with me until the end of the week.” He started the engine and put the car in gear.
Her chest squeezed tight as he turned on to the spectacular coast road with its curvy white-sand beaches and sea views. After which time she would seldom see Zane, if at all, because he worked mostly in the States.
“Talk to me, Lilah.”
She turned her head, which was a mistake, because Zane’s gaze was neither cool nor distant, but contained a flash of vulnerability that tugged at her heart. For a split second she was filled with the dizzying knowledge that Zane truly wanted to be with her. “I don’t know that it’s a good idea to continue.”
Lilah’s fingers clenched on her handbag. The last thing she had expected was that Zane, with his freewheeling approach to love, would try to keep her with him, even if only for a few days.
She should hold firm and finish it now. Staying with Zane could wreck her plans for the secure marriage she needed. She was already distinctly unmotivated at the thought of meeting the men in her file.
But it was also a fact that since she had undertaken the search for a husband a great many things had changed; she had changed.
She was now financially secure and no longer based in Sydney. The financial pressure of her mother’s mortgage was gone.
She was no longer a virgin.
The difference that made was unexpectedly huge. She now knew that if she was not passionately attached to her prospective husband, she would not be able to go through with the physical side of the relationship.
She was aware that this restriction would drastically reduce her chances of finding someone. She was almost certain that none of the men on her list would fulfill her new requirement, but she was no longer worried. She could marry, or not. It was her choice.
The sense of freedom that came with that thought was huge.
She still wanted a stable marriage, but she no longer felt she had to marry in order to be happy or secure. Now she had a much more important goal: she wanted to be loved.
Zane turned into the drive that led to the Atraeus Resort and pulled in under the elegant portico.
Lilah signed the register then followed Zane to the bank of elevators. “What if I say ‘no’ to more time together?” The instant the question was out she knew it was a fatal mistake.
Elevator doors slid open.
Zane gestured that she precede him. “I’m counting on the fact that, when it comes to us, you don’t have a big track record with ‘no.’”
The abrupt switch to teasing charm, and Zane’s use of the word us threw her even more off balance. “A gentleman wouldn’t say that.”
He hit the button to close the door. “But then, as we both know, I’m no gentleman.”
No. He was mad and bad and dangerous to know. He had turned her life upside down, and he was still doing it.
Almost a whole week with Zane before she committed herself fully to the tricky business of finding a husband. The thought was dizzying, tempting.
She couldn’t say no.
“All right,” she said huskily. “Six more days.”
“And then it’s over.”
She tensed, stung by the neutrality of his tone, the implication that he would be relieved when the affair came to an end. “You make it sound like the resolution to a problem.” One of his troubleshooting projects.
Zane bent his head and brushed her mouth with his. “It is a problem, and it has been for two years.”
Six days.
She no longer wanted to concentrate on the men she had planned to meet and date next week. But neither could she afford to abandon her series of interviews altogether.
Zane was not abandoning his life for her. She still needed to plan for the future. She would need something to hold on to when he had gone.
The doors of the elevator opened. Lilah stepped out into the expensively carpeted corridor of the penthouse level. Zane opened the door to a suite.
Decorated in subtle champagne-and-pink hues with elegantly swagged curtains, the suite was both gorgeous and spacious. A glass coffee table held a display of lush pink roses, tropical fruits, a plate of handmade chocolates and an ice bucket with champagne and two flutes.
There were two bedrooms.
Lilah was aware of Zane talking to a bellhop who had delivered their luggage.
While Zane tipped the bellhop she continued to check out the rooms.
Except for the colors, the suite was a mirror image of the one they had shared in Sydney. The separate bedrooms contained identical four-poster beds swathed in diaphanous champagne silk and gorgeous en suite bathrooms. Everything was carefully arranged so that two people could live separate lives in the same suite.
She sensed his presence behind her a split second before she heard the sound of her case being placed on the stand just inside the door. She caught Zane’s reflection in a large ornate mirror and her heart turned over in her chest.
When she turned, one broad shoulder was braced against the door frame. He had brought just the one suitcase, she noted, hers. She realized he had already placed his case in the other bedroom.
She set her handbag down on the end of the bed. “This is a two-bedroom suite.”
His
