his head.
‘I couldn’t do it,’ he said roughly.
‘Do what?’ she managed.
‘Let you go.’ He put his lips to her temple where the hair clung. ‘Not with so much to be resolved between us.’
Jessica made a supreme effort to bring her mind to bear on the words rather than the actions.
‘Such as what exactly?’ she whispered.
‘The future,’ he said. ‘Our future.’
‘We don’t have a future.’
‘We could.’ His tone softened. ‘Marry me, Jessica.’
The shock of it struck her dumb for several moments. She gazed at him blankly.
‘What game are you playing now?’ she got out.
‘I’m serious,’ he said. ‘I want you to marry me.’
Green eyes darkened. ‘Just to make sure of a few shares?’
Zac shook his head. ‘Not just the shares. Not just to satisfy grandfather either.’
‘Oh, then it must be love, of course!’ The sarcasm was a defence of sorts. ‘Three days to fall head over heels!’
‘The time is irrelevant,’ he said. ‘We belong together.’
‘You can’t say that!’ Her voice had a crack in it. ‘You know almost nothing about me!’
‘I know all I need to know.’ The determination was there in his eyes, in the set of his jaw. ‘I won’t give up on this, Jess. The way you responded just now, you can hardly claim to have no feelings at all for me.’
‘There are feelings and feelings,’ she said, battling her weaker instincts. ‘What we have isn’t love.’
Something flickered deep down in the greyness, but his tone didn’t alter. ‘It can be part of it. A very vital part.’
Jessica steeled herself as he put his lips to hers again, but there was no resisting the surging response, no shutting out the inner voice urging her to let matters take their own course. She found her fingers easing the suit jacket from his back, dropping it to the floor to seek the buttons of his shirt with an urgency echoed in his own dextrous movements.
Her nipples sprang to his touch as both blouse and bra joined his garments on the floor, the ache increasing to almost unbearable proportions when Zac lowered his head to run the very tip of his tongue over the tender flesh. Her skirt slid all the way down her legs, leaving her nude but for the flimsy lace panties that were no barrier against the gentle caress.
She buried her face in the broad expanse of his chest as he swung her up in his arms to carry her across to the wide, canopied bed. Laid there, she watched through slitted eyes as he stood back to remove the rest of his clothing, stirred to even greater depths by the sleek muscularity of waist and hip, the masculine strength in the taut thighs. Already fully aroused, he was magnificent—the essence of manhood in all its prime. Jessica had never wanted anything as much as she wanted what was about to happen between them right now.
She reached for him eagerly, wantonly, as he lowered himself to her side, hearing his sharp intake of breath at the exquisite sensation. With Zac she felt no restriction, just an overpowering desire to explore every inch of the superb male body—to open herself to his exploration—to have him inside her, a part of her.
Zac kissed her again before removing the scrap of material that was the only hindrance left. His touch was delicate, parting the quivering flesh to find the warm, welcoming softness within—drawing a gasp from her own lips as he delved her secret depths. Back arching, face constricted, she gave herself up to the movement, the cry torn from her as she climaxed smothered as he claimed her lips once more.
‘For you,’ he said softly. ‘Now this is for both of us.’
He played her like a violin, his lips and tongue wreaking havoc in their exploration of her whole body, making her writhe in an ecstasy of sensation. She wrapped her arms about the broad shoulders as they merged at last, lost to everything but the moment. They reached the summit in perfect unison, collapsing together to lie in suspended animation while the world steadied around them again.
It took the sudden chill when Zac lifted his weight from her to fetch Jessica back from the land of milk and honey. He didn’t go far, propping himself on an elbow the way he had done that very first night, the smile on his lips echoed in his eyes as he viewed her.
‘I owe you an apology,’ he said. ‘I’m afraid the practicalities went completely from mind. Not a habit of mine, I assure you.’
‘If you’re worried about me being pregnant, you don’t need to be,’ she murmured. She searched the hard-boned features uncertainly, trying, without success, to read the mind behind the grey eyes.
‘What are you thinking?’ he asked softly.
‘That most people offered the same opportunity would probably grab it with both hands,’ she admitted.
‘It isn’t an offer I’d consider making to most people.’
‘Then why me in particular?’
Zac studied her arresting face, framed by the spread of chestnut curls over the pillow, dropping his gaze down the curvaceous length of her body and back again with another slow smile. ‘I’d say the answer to that was pretty obvious.’
‘I don’t have anything a thousand other women don’t have,’ she insisted.
‘I haven’t had dealings with a thousand other women,’ he returned equably. ‘Anyway, there’s a lot more to it than just looks. The spark was there from the word go. All it needed was the match.’
‘I’d as soon do without the clichés,’ she retorted, evoking a swift grin.
‘There go some of my best lines!’
Looking into the laughing grey eyes, Jessica felt as if a hand had gripped her heart. It would be so easy to love this man. Why on earth was she hesitating?’
Easy to love, maybe, came the answer, but what about trust? Was it really her he wanted, or just a means to an end?
‘Your grandfather…’ she began, and saw the laughter fade, his mouth take on a straighter line.
‘I can’t pretend he isn’t a factor, but only insofar as the time element is concerned.’
Jessica kept her tone level. ‘You mean, you’d still want me to marry you if he died tonight?’
Zac returned her gaze without a flicker. ‘I’ve never been against marriage itself. I just never met anyone I could contemplate being with on any permanent basis before.’
‘Which you can with me?’
‘Very much so.’
What was she waiting for? Jessica asked herself. How many times in her life was she going to
