Deny Tomorrow Page 17

  An inferno quelled between her legs. Her arms released once more, she alternated between clutching onto him and pounding her fists into the wall. Squirming uncontrollably in ecstasy, she felt her pants now slowly falling away with each move, hastening the moment at which she would be entirely naked before him.

  She ran her fingers through his hair and down his back as he continued his full attention to her breasts. Lost in this magnificent seduction, his free hand found its way down into her panties. Down into the wet moist area between her legs. With just the touch of his hand, his fingers now probing and seeking, she felt herself slipping into oblivion. She wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anyone in her whole life.

  She reached out and touched him, feeling his hard erection bulging beneath his pants. Unbuttoning his shirt and pushing it back off him, she raked her breasts across his bare chest.

  It was as if she couldn’t get enough of his body. His back, rippled with muscles. His biceps, hard from lifting weights… powerful thighs and firm buttocks. His strong masculine essence was like an aphrodisiac to her.

  And just when she thought she couldn’t stand it another minute, he pushed her pants all the way off. She stepped out of them and kicked them aside. Slowly, he kissed his way down her belly. The anticipation was agonizing as his lips moved lower toward their now completely naked target.

  “No,” she moaned, meaning yes and involuntarily bucked forward to meet his hungry mouth. She was about to slip over the edge, when he stopped and stood up and stepped out of his pants. Standing there fully erect, she knew he was about to enter her.

  Against all reason, she cried out, “No. Zach. Stop. I can’t do this.”

  STOP? ZACH couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. She’d caught him totally off guard. She wanted him. He knew she did. She was fully aroused so what was the problem? He’d never had to force himself on a woman in his entire life, and he wasn’t about to start now, though he desperately wanted her... wanted her as much as he’d ever wanted any woman before.

  But now, to be turned down. That would be a real blow to his ego. How had he miscalculated this, he wondered? He was an experienced and sensitive lover who knew all too well how to satisfy a woman. Knew when a woman was right for the taking and she was. So what was wrong?

  Not that it mattered. He would not force himself on her. If she said no, it was over. He would have to live with the rejection. He continued to study her, searching for a meaning to her sudden change of mind.

  “Zach,” she stammered, “I’m not on any birth control, so unless you have some protection, uh...”

  He smacked the wall, frustrated at his lack of preparation. Frustrated that he would not be able to consummate this union tonight. God, he wanted her, but he had no condoms with him. In a way though, he felt relieved. This, he could deal with. Out and out rejection? Now, that would have been a blow to his manhood.

  “I’m sorry,” Arianna said, her distress written all over her face. “I shouldn’t have led you on like this. I should have stopped things before they got this far, it’s just that—”

  But she never finished whatever she was about to say as Zach engulfed her in a kiss, his tongue probing deeply. Once again his hand found its way between her legs, moving rhythmically back and forth across the apex of her womanhood until she was again panting and squirming under his touch.

  “No. Oh, nooo,” she moaned, rolling her head back and forth.

  But it was too late. She knew it was imminent. One thing she’d learned about Zach was he was not to be denied, and so far, whatever he had demanded of her in their brief, torrid relationship, she had given. He would bring her to climax despite her insincere protests. Her surrender would be complete.

  “Oh, please. Oh! My God, Zach,” she cried as she slipped over the edge. Contraction after contraction wracked her body as the spasms consumed her. Buckling at the knees, she collapsed into his arms, whispering his name over and over as she clutched onto him.

  He scooped her up and carried her to the sofa. Straddling her, he stroked and pressed himself against her belly. The mere touch of his erection to her skin was sufficient to send him over the edge. With one loud shudder, he collapsed on top of her in a sweaty heap.

  THEY HELD each other, waiting for their breathing to return to normal. Finally, rising on one elbow, Zach looked at her and tenderly stroked her cheek while he studied her face.

  “You are so beautiful,” he said. “I’ve wanted to tell you that since the first time I saw you.”

  “Ah, I’m sure I looked lovely rousted out of bed at three in the morning at Lisa’s house.”

  No... under that burqa in Kervistan. Zach tucked a lock of hair back behind her ear, wanting to say more. Knew he wouldn’t. Knew he couldn’t.

  Arianna could feel herself blush. She bit her lip and looked away. Oh, Lord! How had she gotten herself into this position?

  Zach turned her face back toward him, thwarting her effort to avoid facing this moment of truth. “It’s too bad we couldn’t have met under different circumstances, Arianna. I’m not the man you think I am.”

  So, she was quickly discovering. She’d just seen a side of him tonight she had no idea existed.

  “Well, you scared me that first night. I didn’t understand what was happening. That’s why I kept trying to escape.”

  Lifting her hand, he gently caressed it against his cheek and then, kissed her palm as he continued to watch her though he spoke not a word.

  “Well, uhm, I’m also kind of used to taking care of myself,” she continued, “and I didn’t think I needed your help anyway.”

  “So I noticed,” he said with a bemused look on his face, idly tracing a finger between the V of her breasts.

  This closeness was almost too much for her. She would have given anything to be able to bolt about now, but she seemed to be trapped.

  “Actually,” she said, sighing, “sometimes maybe, well, see I’m not very used to being told what to do either, so I guess I might not have been as cooperative as I could have been.”

  “Really?” he asked, a twinkle in his eye. “You think?”

  Oh, why am I confessing all this to him. He’s hardly said a word, and I’m pouring my guts out. She just wanted to get up and leave. She never let anyone get close to her, and she always left when things started to get too close for comfort, and right now, they were definitely too close for comfort. But obviously, she wasn’t going anywhere.

  With all of her defenses completely gone, she meekly whispered, “Well, okay, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble. I know you were only trying to help me, and I’m grateful for your help.” And then as if it was killing her to say it, she added, “Thank you.”

  Zach smiled ever so slightly and nodded his head. Bending forward, he kissed her gently and said, “You’re welcome.” He rose from the sofa, brought her a beach towel to cover up with, and then, went searching for their clothes.

  ZACH WAITED on the porch for Arianna to finish dressing. By now he figured he’d been gone just long enough Lydia would be thoroughly pissed at him. Except for the scene she would cause, he really didn’t care. There was no doubt in his mind. The relationship with her was over.

  Arianna came out of the beach house looking radiant. He reached out and pulled her close to him, embracing her once again.

  “Arianna, this is a bit complicated tonight. I didn’t know this was going to happen exactly, I—”

  It was her turn to interrupt him. “I know. Lydia’s waiting for you. You need to go.”

  Stepping back and holding her at arm’s length, he said, “No. It’s not like that, Arianna. You have to understand. I don’t go skipping from the arms of one woman into the arms of another. That’s not my style. But tonight I find myself in an unusual situation. Because of all the guests, I have to go up there, and I have to go up there alone. I can’t do anything to cause a scene at this party or at least I prefer not to if I can avoid it. I’m asking you to be patient and trust
me until I can work this out.”

  “I understand,” she said, lying. She didn’t really understand at all what had happened here tonight or what was going to happen from this point on. “You need to go. You’ve been gone a long time.”

  Zach looked her directly in the eye. “Arianna, please trust me. I’ll get this resolved quickly, and then, we can be together, but for now, I have to go.”

  Noticing she was shivering, he took his jacket off and put it around her. He kissed her tenderly one more time. Then, reluctantly pulling himself away, he took the stairs two at a time to the top.

  Tony caught up with Zach as he came across the lawn. “I have to warn you. Lydia’s been looking all over for you, and she’s totally pissed. Everything all right?”

  “Arianna,” Zach said, not breaking his stride.

  “What?”

  “I’ve been with Arianna,” he snapped.

  Tony shook his head, and a look of confusion crossed his face. “She do something wrong again?” he asked.

  Zach didn’t respond but instead walked to the nearest cabana bar and grabbed a bottle of beer. Only after practically draining the entire beer, did he respond. “No, I saw her go down to the beach, so I followed her.”

  He pulled out his cell phone and texted Juan, asking him to meet him by the bar.

  “I can’t explain it,” he said, looking back at Tony. “She’s all I’ve been thinking about lately. Even when I was in Miami last weekend, she kept popping into my head. Christ, Tony, I was screwing Lydia and thinking about Arianna. How bad is that?”

  Tony shook his head. Really bad, but he didn’t say.

  “I followed her to the beach to, to... I don’t know why for sure. But once I got near her...,” his voice trailed off while he seemed to be reliving a moment in his mind. “I just couldn’t resist her any more. One thing led to another and...”

  He finished his beer, pitched it into the trash, and reached for another. “Damn, she’s all I thought she would be and more. I’m in love with her, Tony.”

  Whew! This was heavy. Zach had never said anything like this before. Never! And there’d been lots of women.

  Juan sauntered over to the cabana, a puzzled look on his face. “What’s up?” he asked.

  “I want you to go down to the beach house and bring Arianna up,” Zach said.

  “What? This isn’t another one of those, let’s surprise sleeping beauty in the middle of the night, but have a little hellion on my hands, is it?” he asked. “I mean, you better fill me in here.” He looked at Tony for clarification, but Tony shrugged his shoulders, confused himself.

  “No, it’s not like that,” Zach said. “I just don’t want her down there alone. She can stay as long as she likes. I’d just feel better if I knew someone was with her.”

  “Damn, Zach. You’re not making any sense. How much have you had to drink tonight anyway?” Juan asked.

  Tony could see Zach was about to lose his temper. “It’s okay, Zach. Here. I’ll take care of this.”

  Tony walked Juan toward the steps to the beach. Unsure himself of exactly what was happening, he tried to fill Juan in.

  “Well, this is all kind of new to me, too, but from what I know so far, Zach and Arianna, well, it seems they’re a couple now. I don’t know what or how it happened, but anyway, he obviously wants you to watch her, see that she’s all right since he can’t get away right now, you know... Lydia. Man, I hate to think what kind of scene she’d cause over this if she knew what was happening.”

  “Holy shit!” Juan said. “I can’t believe it! Or yes, I can actually. Arianna is beautiful. Damn, what a lucky guy!”

  “Yeah, I agree. It just kind of took me by surprise. Anyway, I guess you need to go down there and keep an eye on his new prize possession… make sure she’s all right, you know?”

  “Gotcha!” There was no need for further discussion. He headed down to the beach to find Arianna.

  When Tony returned, Zach was now on his third beer. Something big had sure happened tonight. It had been a long time since Tony had seen Zach in such a state.

  “All taken care of,” Tony said. “What are you going to do about Lydia though?”

  Zach grimaced. “It’s over. I just have to tell her, but I can’t tonight. Not with all these people around. She’s not going to like it. Knowing her, she’ll pitch a royal fit especially if she figures out she’s been dumped for Arianna. I kind of have everything fucked up right now, don’t I?”

  Zach turned and looked toward the stairs leading up from the beach as if expecting to see someone. Arianna probably. “I’ll straighten this all out tomorrow, but first I gotta get through tonight.” He guzzled the rest of his beer and left to find Lydia.

  AFTER ZACH left, Arianna grabbed the bottle of scotch and sat down on the porch. She needed a good stiff drink after what had just happened. And what had happened, she mused? It occurred to her, she might have just been used and cast aside. She had let someone make love to her, practically anyway, and then watched him leave to go find his girlfriend.

  Of course, she understood it was complicated… that he didn’t want to create a scene tonight, but why had she allowed herself to get so intimate with someone who already had a girlfriend? She knew better than that.

  She wanted to think he hadn’t just used her, but logically things didn’t add up. They’d been archenemies since the day they’d met. She’d been nothing but trouble to him, and they’d not spoken more than a dozen words to each other in the three weeks she’d been there. So what could she be to him anyway?

  She should have told him to get lost tonight… to go on back to Lydia. But she hadn’t said anything. Didn’t resist anything. Well, if he had used her, she had no one to blame but herself. She’d broken one of her own cardinal rules. Never get mixed up in a triangle.

  So now, it was time for a reality check. Maybe it was the scotch talking, but the servant’s uniform she wore… she thought it was quite appropriate really. She was way out of her league here. These people were mega rich. He was mega rich. She was just an average girl from a middle class family. One thing her senior year had taught her was, the rich were a closed society where the middleclass are not welcome.

  She had dated the handsome quarterback of her high school football team, Derek Watson. They planned to get married after college. That was, until they told his parents about their wedding plans. No one ever said it in so many words, but she got the message. She was too common for their son. He was a Watson, and Watsons did not marry beneath their station… meaning her. In the end, Derek succumbed to parental pressure and broke up with her.

  The memory of that experience cast a shadow over every relationship she’d had since. She never trusted anyone. Never fully gave herself to any relationship. Of course, maybe she’d just never met the right man all these years, but for whatever reason, any time things got too cozy with a guy, she took off.

  She went inside to get more ice and when she returned, was surprised to see Juan waiting on the porch.

  “Hey, what are you doing here?” she asked.

  “I came to keep you company.”

  “What?”

  “Zach sent me down here to stay with you.”

  “Zach sent you down here to stay with me?” she repeated as she sat down on the front steps to resume her drinking. “Why would he do that? Is he afraid I’m going to try to run away or something?”

  Juan laughed out loud. “Oh, I doubt that. No, he didn’t really say, but I suspect it’s because he wants to make sure you’re all right. He didn’t want you to be alone.”

  Arianna sat there, numb. Ah, yes. He’s a little tied up right now with his girlfriend, but he doesn’t want me to be alone. Of course. That makes perfect sense to me. The scotch was starting to get to her.

  Turning to Juan, she said, “Well, I’m fine so you can go on back to the party.”

  “No, I can’t really.”

  “Why not? I’m not going anywhere, and I’ll be fine. It’s sil
ly for you to be down here with me. Please. Go on back and enjoy the party.”

  “I’m afraid it doesn’t quite work like that. You see, I take my orders from Zach, and if he tells me to stay with you, that’s exactly what I’ll do.”

  Arianna poured more scotch into her glass.

  “Look, Arianna. I don’t know quite what happened between you and Zach, but I know Zach. If he sent me down here to be with you, it means only one thing. He really cares about you. He wouldn’t pull me away from the party and my girlfriend if this was just a routine matter. He’d have one of the other guards come down here, assuming he’d even have anyone stay with you. But he didn’t. He sent me. That makes you top priority.”

  Mystified, Arianna sat there shaking her head. What was he saying? He cares. Zach cares. Top priority? She downed the entire glass of scotch in one swig and poured herself another.

  “You should slow down with the scotch, you know,” Juan said.

  “Why? Did Zach send you down here to monitor my drinking, too?”

  “No. Go ahead,” he chuckled. “Drink all you want. But whatever you’re trying to drown out with that booze, will still be there tomorrow when you wake up.”

  But it was too late already. As she stood up to set the record straight, everything began to swim in front of her eyes. She felt her head spinning, and then, everything went black. Juan reached out and caught her right before she hit the ground.

  He carried her up the steps to the house, cutting around the back of the yard so as not to attract any attention. He did not escape Zach’s gaze who had been watching the stairway for the last half hour. Zach thrust Lydia into Tony’s care and headed around to intercept Juan who was just bringing Arianna in the side door and down to her room.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked.