Billionaire Bad Boy (10 page)

She caught her breath when his eyelids drooped. His
smile vanished and he lowered his face to hers.

The kiss felt strangely familiar, but she ignored that
sensation in favor of the other ones assailing her. The ones that made her toes
tingle, made her heart beat as fast as a butterfly's wings and made her forget
what the hell she was doing kissing Zack DiMarco, a man so out of her league
his team didn't even play on the same planet as hers.

But the moment was spoiled when he abruptly pulled
away and swore. Not the most encouraging gesture. "Sorry," he
muttered as he stood. He looked everywhere but at her, ran his hand through his
hair, rubbing ice cream through it, and apologized again.

Annie stood on wobbly legs, trying to appear like she
didn't care. But she probably didn't succeed considering her heart raced and
her mind whirled. "That's okay." What else could she say? The last
time a kiss had ended with swearing and apologies, she'd been playing chase
with Benny Furland in the school yard and their braces had locked together. Definitely
not a good sign.

"No, you don't understand," Zack muttered. "Hell,
I
don't really understand, but you said it yourself last night, I'm not
your type. Well, you're not my type either so let's just leave it at
that."

Last night? Uh oh. Annie drew her brows together. "I
said that?" Well, it
was
true, only she wished they'd avoided the
topic altogether. Now things would just get awkward between them.

He didn't answer her but spun round and walked off up
the beach. Running to catch up, she made yet another mental note to never drink
again.

***

Kissing Annie the first time had been a mistake. Kissing
her the second time was a monumental disaster. Zack couldn't get her or that
kiss out of his head. She'd looked so delicious as she lay on the beach,
covered in ice cream, giggling and staring up at him through those brilliant
eyes.

It wasn't fair. He wasn't supposed to
feel so much desire, so much need, for one woman. But he did, and now he'd pay
for it because he had to be with her, but not
be
with her.

They drove in silence. Zack wondered if she understood
why he'd stopped the kiss. Probably she didn't, but to her credit, she didn't
pursue it. He wouldn't have a clue how to explain it to her without hurting her
feelings anyway.

But he had to at least justify it to himself. That was
easier. Annie was a quiet, sensible woman. She could do better than a playboy
with a dubious past. And he certainly didn't want to be tied to a woman who
could wrap him around her little finger. He couldn't settle down with one
woman. One petite, sexy woman...

Okay, so convincing himself wasn't as easy as he
thought.

And there was that little matter of her off-handed
comment last night.
I don't like guys like you
. Had she thrown that at
him in frustration? Or did she really mean it? From what Bob had told him, she
usually dated safe men with safe jobs and normal backgrounds. Why would she
want someone like him? Someone with a shady past and a reputation for dating
every woman he knew.

And why did it ache so much? He should be relieved
that she wasn't thinking of him in
that
way.

Hell, this was ridiculous. He'd never struggled with
his conscience where a woman was concerned. He'd never cared what they wanted
him for, or thought of him. And a kiss had never affected him so much.

"Guess this awkward silence means we're not
having that drink," she said.

He glanced at her. Her face was still streaked with
ice cream and her lips pouted. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she
stared straight ahead. Damn. He'd hurt her feelings. He may not be her type but
she was sensitive. He needed to remember that and be more careful with his
words, and his kisses.

"Annie," he said quietly, then thought
better about yet another apology and said, "of course we are. If you
want."

She shrugged and he took that as a yes.

They drove the remainder of the distance in silence.

He carried her parcels into her building, trying not
to step on Snoopy as he made his presence known at Zack's ankles.

When he came out of her bedroom, Annie had already
poured herself a glass of white wine. She handed him a bottle of beer. Now came
the awkward bit. She glared at him over her glass, but every time they made eye
contact, she lowered them and pretended to study its contents.

Damn, it wasn't fair. All women knew guys weren't very
good at apologizing, or at explaining for that matter. What did she expect—groveling?

"Look, Annie," he began then stopped. He
hadn't a clue what to say next. Sorry I kissed you? It'll never happen again? He
didn't want to dig a deeper hole for himself.

But she made it easier for him. "I
understand," she said quietly. Which meant she didn't understand at all. He
wasn't a complete dumbass when it came to women. "Let's just forget about
it. It shouldn't have happened."

She was right. They both knew it. And it was what he
wanted—not the awkwardness but the emotional distance between them. So
why did he feel like someone was using his rib cage as a drum? He opened his
mouth, closed it again and decided to do the safest thing. He took a long drink
of beer to give himself time to think.

But before he could swallow she said, "I'll be
back in a minute," and disappeared into the bedroom.

***

Annie closed her bedroom door and flopped on the bed. She
needed some space, time to think things through. Apparently she'd told Zack he
wasn't her type of guy. What an idiot! It was true, but did she have to
tell
him? Sure, he was out of her league, but he'd kissed her. Her! Who knew where
it could have led. If only he didn't keep breaking off the kisses...

She thunked her forehead. Reality check. Of course he
broke off their kiss. He didn't want to take it any further, or for her to read
more into it. So his hormones occasionally took over—well, he was a man—but
he was able to get the better of them at the crucial moment.

She sighed deeply and stifled unshed tears. Maybe it
was just as well. Taking the kiss further wouldn't be a good idea, and she
probably
would
read more into it than was really there. And deep down,
she knew there never would be more.

She hopped off the bed and picked up one of the
shopping bags. She dumped the contents onto the bed and selected one of the
tiny tops. She wouldn't be caught dead wearing it outside the house. Until now.
She had looked okay in it. And the leather pants. The look in Zack's eyes when
he saw her in them had made her feel good. Womanly. Sexy.

Well, she needed an ego boost...

***

In the lounge room, Zack finished his beer. Now what? He
headed into the kitchen and retrieved another from the fridge. The only
remotely edible thing in it was a hunk of cheese. He sliced it up and ate it.

"You really don't eat well, Annie," he
called out to the closed bedroom door. No answer. "Maybe you should go to
the supermarket once in a while."

Still no answer and she wouldn't usually let that
comment pass without a retort.

Something was wrong. He'd hurt her more than he'd realized.
What now? Should he barge into her bedroom and...what? Console her? Maybe he
should take her out to dinner. He could promise to take her shopping again—what
woman would refuse that? He
could
talk to her, but he wasn't sure how effective
that would be considering he'd already put his foot in it too many times
already.

He switched on her TV, hoping to draw her out with the
noise but there was no movement coming from the bedroom. He glanced down at
Snoopy. The dog sat on his haunches and stared back, panting and happily
drooling on the floor.

"What are you looking at?" Zack growled.

Snoopy lifted two doggy eyebrows at him.

"Okay, okay, I know. You're right. I have to go
and talk to her." But he didn't move. He tapped his fingers against the
beer bottle and drew in a deep breath, then glanced at Snoopy again. "I'll
give you a doggy biscuit if you go talk to her."

Snoopy stayed put.

Zack rose, sighing. "You're right. I wouldn't do
it for one of those things either."

He crossed the lounge and lifted his hand to knock on
her bedroom door but stopped. She'd only tell him to go away. And he really
wanted to talk to her, clear the air. So he just opened the door instead.

And stopped dead in his tracks.

Annie was naked.

Annie stood with her back to Zack, studying her
reflection in the long mirror. Now that he'd had a few more seconds to drink
her in, he realized she wasn't entirely naked—a thong sliced through two
exquisite butt cheeks.

His breath caught and his groin throbbed.

Then Annie whipped around, the new leather pants held
up to cover her from breasts to thighs. Only she'd forgotten about the mirror
and Zack had a perfect view of that perfect behind.

"What are you doing?" she cried, color
flooding her cheeks.

"Um..."

She bit her lip and shifted her weight, but to her
credit, her glare didn't falter.

He should remind her about the mirror. He really,
really
should remind her. A chivalrous man would.

Who was he kidding? No man in his right
mind would remind her—the view was way too tantalizing. And the glimpse
he'd caught of the rest of her hinted at what else had been hidden under her
jeans and T-shirt all day.

"Um," he said again, trying desperately to
think of something to say. For some reason, his brain didn't work and he
couldn't come up with anything sensible, so he said, "Why are you
naked?"
Dumbass, stupid question
.

"I was trying on these pants," she said
stiffly.

"I see." Oh boy, did he see all
right. "So how do they look?"

She frowned, her face flushed, gaze locked with his. Then
they widened to the size of saucers and he knew he was done for.

"Oh my God!" She glanced over her shoulder
and gasped at her reflection. She picked up one of the new tops that lay
discarded on the floor and held it against her bottom. But he'd seen enough and
it was becoming obvious that he'd enjoyed it. Painfully obvious. And Annie had
noticed.

Her face flushed again but this time a small smile
flickered across her lips. She was laughing at him!

"I'm going," he muttered, quickly turning away.
He reached her front door before turning back, half hoping to catch another
glimpse of her. But she was out of sight. "I want to see you
in
those leathers tomorrow," he called. "We're going for a ride. You're
driving."

Too late, he realized what a bad idea riding was. It
meant he'd have to sit behind her. And she was going to be wearing those
leather pants. He sighed. Tomorrow would be agony.

***

Annie was determined to put a brave face on it. He'd
seen her naked—so what! He hadn't run away screaming at the sight. Although
he
had
run away, he was far from screaming. She smiled as she remembered
his reaction. Being caught nearly naked by Zack might have been worth it after
all.

"You look good," he said when
she opened her door to him the next morning.

He looked pretty damn good himself,
slouched against the door frame, hands plunged into his jeans pockets, ankles
crossed. A shadow of beard and hair that needed a comb run through it, gave him
a don't-mess-with-me look. He wore riding gear—black jeans, leather
jacket, black T-shirt.

She was dressed similarly in her leather
jacket, a white T-shirt and the new leather pants. When she'd tried them on
last night, she'd discovered they showed the outline of her underpants
underneath. Even she knew that was a big fashion no-no, hence the thong which
she'd found deep inside her top drawer. A long-ago boyfriend had bought it for
her in the hope that she'd wear it. She never had. But now, it was the only
suitable thing to wear under pants so tight nothing was left to the
imagination.

She stepped past him and walked as unselfconsciously
as she could to the road. She didn't need to turn around to know that his gaze
was fixed on her behind—she could feel its heat.

"Wearing the thong?" he asked, his voice
casual. Maybe a little too casual, as if he were trying too hard to sound like
he didn't care.

"What do you think?"

She heard him suck in air but he didn't answer. She
smiled to herself. Yup—he wanted her. She swallowed. Oh boy, LA's sexiest
bachelor wanted
her
. Who cares that he wasn't interested in a
relationship with her—it just felt good to be desired. Maybe next time he
wouldn't stop their kiss. She swallowed, not wanting to think about what would
have happened if he hadn't. She wasn't sure she could do the casual sex thing,
even if it was with the hottest man in town.