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  He came around to her side of the kitchen and placed his hands on her hips, his eyes locking on hers. Her heart skipped and her pulse thumped. ‘What I’d like is to kiss you again.’

  She swallowed and glanced at his mouth, her heart rate going into overdrive. ‘I’m not sure that’s such a great idea...’

  He tipped up her chin so her gaze met his. ‘Just a kiss. Nothing else, okay?’

  Holly pressed her lips together to try to stop them from tingling in anticipation but if anything it made it worse. Her lips were branded with the texture and feel of his. Who knew a kiss could be so exciting? So enthralling? ‘I guess one more kiss would be okay...’

  His mouth came down towards her as if in slow motion, every millimetre of the journey ramping up her desire. When he touched down on her lips she gave a soft murmur of approval, her arms winding up around his neck to bring her body closer to the hot hard heat of his. His mouth moved with passionate deliberation, his tongue meeting hers in a sexy tango that made her whole body shiver with longing.

  Their first kiss hadn’t been a fluke. This one was just as spellbinding, sweeping her up into a vortex of need that coursed through her body like a fast-running tide. His lips were both hard and soft, teasing and tantalising. His tongue flicked against hers in an erotic dance step that triggered a storm of need within her body. She whimpered against the crushing pressure of his mouth, giving herself up to the sensual assault like someone quitting a long-held diet. She feasted on his mouth, relishing in the pressure of it, the allure of his lips and tongue playing with hers.

  One of his hands moved from her hips to press into the small of her back, the other sliding up to cradle her face. His mouth clamped to hers with increasing urgency, his body deliciously hard against her. She moved against him, searching for more of that wonderful friction, but he suddenly pulled back and held her apart from him, his breathing heavy and uneven.

  He gave another crooked smile. ‘I’d better stop before I can’t stop.’

  Holly knew she should be feeling relieved he had called a halt, but instead she felt disappointed. Achingly disappointed. Her body was on fire and never had she wanted a man more than this one. She looked into his dark blue eyes and wondered if he could tell how much she wanted him to kiss her again. Not once. Not twice but thousands of times. ‘I guess we’d better stop, then.’ Was that her voice? That whisper-soft thread of sound? That sound of desperation and tantalised but unsatisfied need?

  Zack moved closer again as if drawn by a magnetic force, his thumb brushing over the curve of her lower lip. ‘You have the most kissable mouth.’

  Holly inched closer to him, unable to resist the lure of his body. She slid her hands up the wall of his chest, delighting in the feel of his hard, toned muscles against her hands. It made her wonder what it would be like to be crushed beneath his weight, pleasured by not just his mouth but by his potent male body.

  Her wayward thoughts jarred her out of his embrace. She lowered her hands from his chest and took a step back. Where was her resolve when she needed it? She wasn’t going to be seduced by him. He was expecting her to fall into his arms like every other woman he showed an interest in. He had selected her at that party, making her his new target, his new and challenging mission of seduction. She would be falling into the same category as every other lover he’d had if she succumbed to his charm.

  But if he was disappointed in her stepping away from him he didn’t show it. If anything, his indolent smile seemed to suggest he knew exactly what she was thinking.

  ‘So what’s the deal for the engagement party next month? Shall I book somewhere for us to stay overnight?’ His eyes did their twinkling thing. ‘We’ll have to share a room or people will wonder if our relationship is genuine.’

  Eek! Why hadn’t she thought through the details a little more carefully? Holly thought of her parents, still in love after so many years, who rarely spent a night apart. They believed a couple who slept together stayed together. Her parents would expect her and Zack to stay at their house. Would they accept her excuse for not sharing a room with Zack? What would be her excuse? She couldn’t bear another lecture from her mother about having a healthy sex life. But nor could she bear her family finding out her engagement was a charade. At least she had a few weeks to come up with some sort of excuse.

  ‘I’ll get back to you on that... We’ve got a month to make arrangements...’ Why did she have to sound so vague? As if she was hedging her bets?

  ‘I’d be happy to share if you’re up for it.’

  Up for it? That was the whole damn problem. Holly was too up for it. She was so up for it her body was pulsing with desire. It was all she could think about. Sharing a bed with him. Sharing her body with him. Holly kept her posture stiff and determined even though her resolve to resist him was sagging like a wilted daisy. ‘You’re not my type. And I’m pretty certain I’m not yours.’

  His eyes darkened to midnight blue. ‘You felt like my type when I kissed you.’ He moved closer and brushed her lower lip with the pad of his thumb, sending her senses spinning like skates on slippery ice. ‘Don’t you want to explore the chemistry we’ve got going, hmm?’

  ‘What chemistry?’ Holly affected a disinterested tone.

  His hand slid under the weight of her hair and he brought his mouth down to just above hers, his warm breath teasing her lips. ‘This chemistry.’

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ZACK HAD NEVER kissed a more gorgeous-tasting mouth. The taste, the texture, the temptation just about blew the top of his head off. Her lips were pillow soft and moved against his with such fervour he had trouble controlling himself. He couldn’t stop himself from going back for more. And more. And more. How the hell had he thought he could stop at one kiss? Her mouth was the most responsive mouth he’d ever kissed. It felt like he’d been kissing her for years. Not in a boring, been-there-done-that-hundreds-of-times way, but with a relaxed familiarity that made him realise how deeply in tune his body was with hers. The first time his lips had met hers something had clicked. It was like suddenly recalling the steps to a dance you’d thought you’d long forgotten.

  The softness of Holly’s mouth had surprised him from the first time he’d kissed her. The softness and the sweetness—sweetness he craved like a potent drug. She tasted of vanilla and cinnamon with a hint of strawberry from her lip gloss—most of which he’d kissed away. He would never be able to look at a strawberry again without thinking about her. Her tongue danced with his in a sexy tango that made his groin swell and throb with need. He could feel the building pressure in his pelvis, the tight ache of his flesh against her softer, deliciously feminine frame.

  He couldn’t remember a time when a kiss had got him so worked up. It was like his hormones had gone crazy, sending pulses of lust firing through his flesh in sharp shooting darts and piercing arrows. His body was tingling from head to foot where it was in contact with hers and he ached to feel her against him, skin on skin.

  He pressed her back against the nearest wall, devouring her mouth, breathing in the fresh flowery scent of her, his senses going wild with longing. Everything about her delighted him: her body, her brain and her bold determination to resist the chemistry that sizzled between them. She was making him work as he’d never worked before. Seduction was a game he played—and played well. He knew when a woman was interested, and consent to him was a priority. Always. He wasn’t an egotistical jerk who thought no meant yes. He respected a woman’s right to say no at any stage of making love. And it thrilled him to feel her response to him. Thrilled and excited him because he knew it wouldn’t be long before she gave herself to him.

  Holly’s mouth moved with sweet urgency beneath his, her arms going around his neck, her fingers playing with his hair making shivers shoot up and down his spine. He put a hand to the small of her back and brought her against the throbbing ache of his body. She gave a soft whimper and her teeth grazed hi
s lower lip in a kittenish bite that made his skin tingle all over. Her tongue met his and darted and dived around it in a flickering dance that had erotic overtones. He wanted to surge into her wet warmth and take them both to heaven.

  Wanted. Wanted. Wanted.

  It was a chant pounding in his blood. A primal thrumming beat so strong, so powerful he could feel it in every pore of his flesh. He had never felt such overwhelming desire for a woman.

  What was it about Holly that stirred his senses into such frenzy?

  He planted his hand on the wall behind her head and lifted his mouth off the tantalising temptation of hers. ‘See what I mean about chemistry?’

  ‘Erm...yes...’ Her cheeks were a faint shade of pink, her mouth cherry red from his kisses and her creamy chin grazed from his stubble. Seeing that mark on her skin made something in his chest slip, like his heart had shifted from its moorings.

  Zack touched her chin with his finger. ‘I’ve given you beard rash. Sorry.’ His voice came out as scratchy as his stubble.

  Her toffee-brown eyes were luminous, her tongue sneaking out to lick her lips, and desire hit him like a punch. She put her finger to her chin, tracing over the same spot his finger had moments earlier. ‘That’s okay...’ Her voice was so soft and breathless he had to strain his ears to hear it.

  Zack leaned down to press a light-as-air kiss to her mouth but when he pulled away her lips clung to his like silk did to something rough. He traced her mouth with a lazy finger, watching as she swayed towards him, her eyelashes going down to half-mast.

  Yep. You’ve got this.

  But then she suddenly blinked and straightened and pressed her lips together as if she’d read his mind. ‘If you change your mind about the party next month...’

  He took one of her hands and brought it up to his mouth, planting a kiss to her bent knuckles. ‘I won’t change my mind.’

  She pulled her hand out of his hold and dipped out from under his arm, turning to give him a tremulous smile. ‘I’ll see you in four weeks, then. Shall we say around noon on the Saturday?’

  Why was she pulling away from him when it was clear she wanted him as much as he wanted her? Zack wasn’t going to let her get away with putting a whole month of distance between them. His body was already feeling the pain of separation. He could barely cope with four minutes without seeing her let alone four weeks. ‘I want to see you before then.’

  Her chin came up a fraction, her eyes bright with a spark of defiance. ‘I’m afraid that’s not possible. I’m busy until then.’

  He locked his gaze with hers. ‘We’re engaged. It’s expected that we’ll spend every available moment outside work together. And we need to get you a ring.’

  Her teeth sank into the softness of her bottom lip, her gaze slipping away from his to look at his mouth. She released her lip and brought her gaze back to his, the defiance taken over by a flicker of uncertainty. ‘Is a ring really necessary?’

  He picked up her left hand and stroked his finger between her knuckles on her ring finger. ‘Did your other fiancés buy you rings?’

  A shadow moved through her gaze. ‘Yes, but that’s entirely different because I was engaged to them for real.’

  Zack wondered who those men were and why they had left her in the lurch. Jilting a bride was a low act, in his opinion. If a relationship wasn’t working, then why not say so in private instead of ditching someone in such a public and humiliating way? He kept hold of her hand, absently stroking the back of it with his thumb. ‘Were you in love with either of them?’

  Her teeth began to savage her lip again. ‘I thought so at the time...’

  ‘And now?’

  Her eyes met his briefly, only to dip to his mouth once more. She let out a long sigh and stepped out of his hold, running a hand through the mane of her hair in a distracted manner. The movement of her hair released the scent of flowers and he longed to bury his head in its fragrant strands.

  ‘No...’ she said. ‘I was feeling the pressure of being the firstborn daughter to happily married parents who think the only way a girl can be happy is to have a husband by her side.’ She hugged her arms around her body and glanced at him again. ‘The first man who showed an interest in me and I fancied I was in love with him. I can see now how much pressure I put on him. There were signs we weren’t all that well suited, but did I take notice of them? No. I was too caught up in wedding fever. So much so that I was the one who proposed to him.’ A tide of colour swept into her face and she turned her head away, as if shamed by her revelation.

  ‘So what happened the next time?’

  Holly let out a humourless laugh. ‘I met Peter eighteen months after Owen called off the wedding. He seemed keen on the idea of marrying but, in hindsight, I think that was more because I didn’t want to sleep with him until he made a solid commitment.’ She screwed up her mouth. ‘At least this time he was the one who proposed to me, but it was hardly what you would call romantic.’

  ‘How did he propose?’

  ‘He said, and I quote, “How about we get hitched?”’ Holly rolled her eyes. ‘More fool me for accepting such a lousy proposal. He was having it off with his personal trainer the whole time we were together. He told me she was his second cousin twice removed.’

  Zack frowned. ‘That’s really low. I know I have a reputation as a playboy, but the one thing I’ve never done is cheat on a partner, no matter how casual the relationship.’

  Holly gave him a twisted lip movement that wasn’t quite a smile. ‘Have you ever been in love?’

  ‘No.’

  Her nutmeg-brown eyes held his for a beat or two. ‘That sounded a rather emphatic response.’

  Zack shrugged. ‘That’s because it’s true. I’ve never felt that way about anyone.’

  ‘Not even a tiny flutter of your closed-off heart?’ There was a pert note to her voice that made him wonder if she knew how attracted he was to her—far more attracted than he had ever been to anyone before.

  Zack affected a casual smile even though his heart was doing a damn fine impression of doing some serious fluttering right then and there. It felt like someone had opened an aviary inside his chest. ‘Nope.’

  Her smile was tight and fleeting and she glanced towards the door. ‘I should let you get on with your evening. Thanks again for the flowers.’

  ‘Have dinner with me.’

  Her chin came back up. ‘Do you always command people to do as you wish?’

  Zack was getting off on her starchy tone. She was so damn cute he could barely stand it. ‘You have to eat, don’t you? We might as well do it together. We’re engaged, remember?’

  Her mouth pursed and it made him want to kiss it back into shape. ‘Stop reminding me.’

  ‘I’ll give you five minutes to get ready,’ Zack said and took out his phone. ‘Well, will you look at that. That Tweet about us has gone viral. I’d better give my dad a call before—’ His phone began to ring and he saw his father’s name come up on the screen. He mouthed, ‘Excuse me,’ to Holly and turned to answer the call. ‘Dad, are you okay?’

  ‘I was going to ask you the same question,’ his father said. ‘What’s going on? Someone told me they heard you just got engaged. Why didn’t you tell me the other night?’

  Zack was conscious of Holly hovering close by. ‘Yeah, well, I hadn’t asked her then,’ he said, winking at her. ‘I didn’t think she’d say yes, but she did.’

  ‘I’m thrilled for you!’ His dad’s voice was as upbeat as a motivational speaker. ‘My boy’s getting married. At long last.’

  ‘I got tired of being single,’ Zack said, mentally crossing his fingers at all the white lies he was telling. ‘I’m ready to settle down.’ He was acting like a man who had fallen in love for the first time. He would never be that man, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t act like it. Ruthless of him? You bet. Maybe he should have pu
rsued an acting career. Who knew he had such a gift?

  ‘When do I get to meet her?’ his dad asked.

  Zack glanced at Holly, who was blushing like a hothouse rose. ‘I’ll give you a call soon to arrange dinner with us. Sorry you had to find out via someone else. I should’ve given you a heads-up the other night.’

  ‘It’s okay, son. As long as you’re happy, that’s all I care about.’

  Zack ended the call and looked at Holly. ‘As you probably heard—my dad sends his congratulations.’

  She pulled at her lip with her teeth, her cheeks still stained pink. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t believe you about being at the theatre with him the other night. I assumed you were with someone else. A female someone else.’

  ‘It’s okay. I would’ve much preferred to be with you, but my dad needs a bit of support now and again.’ Zack knew he had stepped over a line by revealing more about his relationship with his father than he normally would, but for some reason he didn’t feel as uncomfortable about it as he’d expected.

  Concern shone in her gaze. ‘Is he unwell?’

  Zack pocketed his phone. ‘He broke up with a partner a few months ago. He’s finding it a little hard to move on.’

  ‘How long were they together?’

  He gave a rueful twist of his mouth. ‘Long enough for my father to make comparisons between her and my mother, who he still holds up as the ideal model of a wife even though she divorced him twenty-four years ago.’

  ‘That must have been tough on you,’ Holly said, screwing up her forehead in a frown. ‘What were you? Ten?’

  ‘Yep. Ten going on thirty. It was tough mostly because my dad fell apart.’ Zack was surprised by how easy it was to talk to her about his past. ‘I’m an only child so it fell to me to pick up the pieces.’ He released a sigh of frustration. Twenty-four years of frustration. ‘It still falls on me. He can’t seem to move on. Every time he suffers another break-up it brings back all the unresolved issues he had with my mother.’