even as her gasp of surprise escaped her. “Going he-man on me?”
“Spoiling you more like.”
“Oh, really? I could get used to this,” she teased.
He didn’t bother with a reply, but didn’t look too fazed at the prospect. So not good for the odd blips of emotion that had been pestering her lately. But that was one thing she could say about Zephyr Nikos, whether it be in his role as friend, boss or bed partner, the man did not stint on his generosity.
Despite his obvious desire, rather than showing mass amounts of impatience, he laid her gently on the big bed and seemed determined to reacquaint himself with every facet of her body. He drove her crazy with reticence while pumping her for information on her time away from him.
After he asked yet another question about her experience in the Midwest decorating the interior for a new office building, she laughed. “We spoke every day, Zephyr. I can’t think of anything I didn’t already tell you.”
The gorgeous tycoon actually looked like he might be blushing, his dark eyes reflecting chagrin. “I was just curious.”
“You know what I do on a job. I’ve done it for Stamos and Nikos Enterprises often enough.”
“Did you like the Midwest better than Seattle?” he asked with what she thought was entirely mistimed curiosity.
“Are you kidding?”
His expression said clearly he wasn’t.
“I love Seattle. The energy in the city is amazing.” And he was there.
“That’s good to know.”
Suddenly, all his questions started to make sense. “You heard.”
Chapter Two
ZEPHYR tried to look innocent.
“How? Who told you?”
“Does it matter? Information is more lucrative than platinum in my business.”
“Did you seriously think Pearson Property Developments could offer me a better situation than your company already has done?”
“Money isn’t your only consideration, it isn’t even your main one, or you would have accepted my job offer by now.”
It was true. She would make a lot more money working for him as an employee whose overheads were absorbed by the company rather than as a fledgling design business that sucked up the vast majority of the not-insubstantial fees charged to her clients.
“So, you thought I might like the Midwest enough to take Pearson’s job offer?” She couldn’t imagine it and disbelief colored her voice.
“They didn’t just offer you a job.”
“No, they also offered a contract for several projects they have in the pipeline over the next two years.” While still leaving her an independent operator, the offer would provide the kind of security most up-and-coming designers dreamed about.
If living in a landlocked state without a single authentic Vietnamese or Thai restaurant was what she wanted. It wasn’t. She was too fond of the diversified and active culture of Seattle.
“I’ve gotten too spoiled to big-city living. The only Thai restaurant I found was run by a man named Arnie who thinks a good curry comes with corn-on-the-cob.”
Zephyr shuddered. “So, you are not taking the contract.”
“Doing so would have made it impossible to do this property. I wasn’t willing to give up a chance at decorating a specialty resort in paradise for re-creating my first design in a series of cookie-cutter office buildings.”
One of the things she and Art had disagreed on, besides the whole issue of marital fidelity, was her need to create, not merely re-create. For Art, the bottom line was always money. While Piper craved security, she needed the chance to stretch her artistic muscles just as much.
“I’m glad.”
She smiled. “Good.”
“I’m equally pleased you are here with me now.” For a man like Zephyr, that was quite an admission.
It deserved rewarding, at the very least reciprocating honesty. Emotion she was doing her best to suppress colored her single-word answer. “Ditto.”
He made a sexy sound, very much like a growl, before pulling her to him for a scorching kiss. Finally.
She’d missed him; she’d missed this so much. Being touched. Being held. She’d gotten very spoiled to seeing him so frequently.
She threw herself into the kiss without the least resistance. She adored his lovemaking, but she could do this for hours.
And from the way his lips moved against hers, so could he.
She felt herself being lifted and then she was straddling his thighs, her skirt rucked up around her hips. The mattress was firm enough to support his sitting up easily. What brand was it? She couldn’t help wondering.
And then all work-related thoughts disappeared as her brain focused on the only thing that mattered right now, the sensation of being held and kissed by the most amazing man she’d ever met.
His mouth fit over hers perfectly. And he tasted like her idea of heaven. He deepened the kiss, but with no sense of urgency, telling her silently that they had all the time in the world. He was the only man she’d ever known who treated kissing like an end unto itself.
The kiss broke for a moment, their lips sliding apart in a natural movement. He caressed her cheek and temple with his lips.
She smiled, warmed clear through and pleased by the fact he hadn’t just missed sex with her. He seemed to have missed their connection almost as much as she had.
“I’m surprised you’re not tearing my clothes off after six weeks going without,” she whispered, the hushed quiet around them feeling almost sacred.
Then a chilling thought took her. Maybe he hadn’t gone without. Maybe that’s why he was so relaxed. They’d never made the commitment toward monogamy. He could very well have found someone else back in Seattle.
“I kept myself busy at work. With Neo cutting back his hours to spend more time with Cass, there’s a lot of reorganization of responsibilities going on.” He gave her gentle baby kisses all over face and neck between words. “Even if you had been in Seattle, I would barely have seen you over the past six weeks.”
Which implied he hadn’t been with anyone else, either.
“I didn’t realize it was that bad.” He’d mentioned something to that effect, but she’d thought he was just trying to make her feel better.
She should have known better. For all his apparent affability, Zephyr Nikos was an almost brutally honest man. He’d warned her early in their association that he didn’t do “sensitive” and he hoped she could handle candor, even when it meant criticism. He’d been referring
