Spin (The Indigo Lounge Series) (8 page)

I couldn’t care less about pointing it out to him, but I nearly giggle at the thought. Nearly.

I spot Philip nursing a soda one table away. He’s not looking my way, but I know he’s aware of everything happening right now.

Philip...the man who was previously my future husband’s Man Friday, but who’s now entrusted with my wellbeing when Zach’s not around.

With one word, I can get Philip to take care of my Chris problem. But in the interest of lines drawn and fresh starts, I raise an eyebrow at my ex. “That’s what you came over here to say? That I look healthy?”

“Well...no, but the compliment was deserved.”

“Thank you.”

His gaze drops to the rock on my finger and he nods at it. “I heard you were getting hitched.”

“You heard right.”

“To that Savage guy?” There’s a mixture of awe and envy in his voice that soothes a part of me I wasn’t even aware needed soothing.

“You done with the chit-chat yet, A-hole? Only, I’m getting parched over here,” Keely snaps.

Chris’s jaw clenches for an instant, but his retains his composure. “She never liked me, did she?” He forces a laugh, inviting a camaraderie I have no intention of indulging.

“I need a drink too, so if we’re done here?”

“Wait.” He reaches out for my arm.

I step back. Those three seconds were bad enough. No fucking way am I compounding my sins by letting another man touch me. I glare at the offensive hand until he drops it.

“Say what you came to came to say and leave, Chris. Although I fail to see what we have to talk about. Our last meeting was eye-opening and definitive enough, don’t you think?”

He scratches his jaw for a moment before he answers. “Beth, listen, what happened...it was a mistake.”

“What are we talking about, exactly? The time we were together, or the months you spent lying to me while sticking your dick somewhere else?”

A dull flush rushes up his neck. “I’m not into that. Not anymore. That time...it was just a phase.”

I’m mildly stunned by his gall. “Oh, you mean like flu season? You caught something that lingered for a while, but then you got your shot, so you’re all better? But, oh poor Beth got caught in the outbreak? Good for you. Goodbye, Chris.”

I turn decisively from him and take my seat. Keely is still glaring daggers at him.

He braves her stare and steps closer. Beyond him I see Philip’s shadow loom.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Sure you did. You deliberately went out of your way to humiliate and hurt me. But you know what? If you hadn’t decided you wanted to explore the joys of anal sex with
men
, I wouldn’t have met the love of my life, so I guess you served your purpose in my life. And what you see right here, me, being
healthy
? It’s me,
happy
beyond my wildest dreams. This is a possible guess, but what you
won’t
see if you don’t step away from me right now, is another sunrise.”

His dark blond eyebrows crease. “What?”

“My fiancé is insanely possessive and bit of a Neanderthal about who I talk to. You’re not on his approved list, and my minder is right behind you, so I suggest you leave right now, while the leaving is good.”

His head whips round and he spots Philip. He blanches and takes a few hurried steps sideways.

When he thinks he’s safely out of Philip’s reach, he looks back at me, his expression a mixture of entreaty and irritation. Whether he tracked me down by design or this was some shitty coincidence, I’ve fucked up his plans to...what? Make me think he’s less of an asshole?

Every square inch of my heart and soul is filled with Zach. I don’t even want to look for empathy for Chris. I turn my head. Keely’s staring at me with concern.

“I’m fine.”

She stares some more. Then nods. “You
so
fucking are, girlfriend.” She lifts an almost regal hand and a waiter materializes. Ten minutes later, we’re back on the dance floor and it’s almost like the interlude with Chris never happened.

But those three seconds still haunt me.

So, when my phone lights up with a text, while I’m on my way out of the bathroom, I jump on it. I lean against the wall and read it.

Having fun, Peaches?

Hell, yeah! I’m high on cocktails and hip-hop. You?

I want to be high on you.

Very funny. You know what I mean.

I’m being extremely productive, but my fun only happens when I’m with you.

Liar. You couldn’t get out the door fast enough when Mason called. You gonna tell me what you two are up to?

No.

I sigh and worry my lip with my teeth. In the end, I decide to bite the bullet.

So...I saw Chris tonight.

I don’t receive an answer. But my phone rings thirty seconds later.

“Peaches.” His voice is a deep, sexy rumble, and I want to sigh with pleasure.

“Hey.”

“I know.” Of course he knows. I don’t ask how.

“He’s no longer gay. Apparently.”

“I know that, too.”

My breath catches and my mind tumbles over the possibilities. “Zach?”

“Peaches?” he responds with infinite patience.

“Did you...?” I sigh and rest my head against the mosaic tiles. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

“Because it’s not important or because you’re too high on cocktails to form proper words?”

I smile at the wall. “I can form words.”

“Tell me, then.”

“I don’t want to know because I ripped the rearview mirror out and threw it away. You are my future. All I see, all I want, is in front of me. You’re it, baby.”

He remains silent for a charged moment. “Hell, Bethany, if I wasn’t in another state, I’d track you down and fuck the shit out of you!”

I giggle for one ecstatic moment before his words intrude. “Wait, you’re in another
state
?”

“Fuck, did I just let you trip me up?” he growls.

“Don’t dodge the question. Where are you?”

“Mason and I are in Connecticut. We’ll be back in a few hours. I want you naked and in bed when I get there.”

My pulse goes wild and I grip the phone tighter. “Okay, Zach. Anything else?”

“I love it when you’re wet for me before I even touch you. But not tonight. I want to work for it,” he continues, his voice thickening with each word. “Will you let me work for it, baby?”

My eyelids droop and my surroundings recede. Zach is my sole focus. “Y...yes.”

“Fuck, you’re already getting wet, aren’t you?”

I force my eyes open and clear my throat. “No. I’m not that easy, Savage.”

He laughs. “Trust me, sweetheart, I know that. Now tell me what else he said.”

If anything’s guaranteed to kill my erotic buzz, it’s the reminder of those shitty minutes with my ex. “He was courteous. And he apologized for hurting me.” No way am I going to tell Zach about Chris complimenting my body.

“He hurt you in the first place. He doesn’t get a pass out of Asshole-ville.”

“Keely made that very clear to him.”

“Good for her. Anything else?”

I grimace. “I wasn’t very nice to him.”

“You bothered to give him the time of day. That’s a hell of a lot more than he deserves. Or what I would’ve allowed. You get a pass this once, baby. Next time, Philip handles it.”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’m heading back to the dance floor.”

“Philip will take you home in an hour. I’ll be there in two, tops.”

“Good, we can get a few hours sleep before we head to Westchester.” Zach has commissioned the jeweler who designed my parents’ wedding rings to design ours. Tomorrow will be our first sight and fitting, and I can’t wait.

“I need a few hours with you first. You can sleep in a little in the morning if you need to. I’ll push back the appointment.”

I pout even though he can’t see me. “I’m excited about the fitting, Zach. I don’t want to push it back.”

“That’s your call, baby. I’m excited too. But I’m fucking you long and hard when I get back. And we both know you’re not a morning person...”

“I’ll set the alarm.”

“You’ll sleep right through it. You wanted to drive, but how about we take the chopper instead? That way you can sleep a little longer?”

My smile makes a triumphant comeback. “You’re my hero.”

“Don’t fucking forget that. Now go enjoy yourself.”

I rejoin Keely and we throw ourselves into our last hour of girls’ night out. It occurs to me at one point that this
is
our last before I officially check out of single town.

I don’t say anything because I don’t want to ruin the mood. But I dance harder, laugh harder, and hug her tighter when the night is over.

If only I knew what waited for me around the corner, I’d have done everything ten times as hard.

W.T.F. Just Happened

Bethany

“C
an we talk about this?”

From his lounged position across from me on the bench helicopter seat, Zach raises an eyebrow at me. His blue shirt and cashmere sweater combo makes his eyes seem more blue than grey. Add the long denim-clad legs, designer stubble, and finger-combed hair, and his drop-dead sexy appearance is almost too much at this time of the morning.

“About you having a bachelorette party? Sure. The remodeling of The Indigo NYC spa finished last week. Tell Keely it’s at her disposal to stage your party there. You ladies can have free rein of the place for the whole weekend.”

I look up from the text Keely just sent and the list of things she’s planning, and I clear my throat. “I don’t think a spa weekend is quite what she has in mind.”

Zach plucks the phone from my hand and reads the contents of the text. His eyes narrow the further he reads. “Over my fucking dead body is any of this happening.” Before I can get another word out he hits dial and speaker on my phone. Over the noise of the helicopter blades flying us to Westchester, I hear Keely’s husky voice answer.

“Hey, sexy. Did you get my text?”

“She got your text.” He leans back against the plush cream seat, and, although the gaze that slides over me sizzles with the ever-burning lust, I also see intense irritation. “Matter of fact, we’re discussing it now.”

“Crap. Let me guess. You’re going to piss all over it, aren’t you, Savage?”

“On the contrary, I’m thinking of forwarding your interesting suggestions to Mason. I’m excited to see how he feels about you enticing my fiancée into a Magic Mike themed bachelorette party.”

“
Shit
. Seriously, there’s no need to—”

“Can I ask you a question, Keely?”

“Uh...sure.”

“You think Bethany’s missing something I’m not providing her?” he drawls. I shake my head and frantically signal for him to end the call. He responds by placing his hand on my upper thigh. The look in his eyes both excites and frightens me a little.

“Come on, Zach. Don’t go there. I just thought it’d be fun.”

“Fun. I see,” he replies. Then he says nothing else. His gaze drops to the hand on my thigh, and his thumb caresses back and forth over my white wool jumper dress.

A tense half minute ticks by.

Keely clears her throat. Then she sighs. “Fine. Point taken. No Magic Mike.”

“Excellent. Thank you, Keely.” He ends the call and hands me my phone. The hand on my thigh shifts. He pushes back the material until he’s touching my naked flesh.

“Why was this phone call necessary, Peaches?” His voice is soft, deadly. “Is this what you really want? Some oiled up asshole rubbing himself all over you? Are you going to miss being single that much?”

“You know the answer to that,” I reply with a frown.

“Do I? You know how I feel about other guys around you. You could’ve handled this with a simple
no
. Instead you wanted to
discuss
it. You seem to be in the mood to piss me off this morning. Care to tell me why?”

I grimace inwardly. We both got out of bed grumpy. I know my bad mood partly stems from the hangover I’m nursing. Zach’s intense irritation is because I refused to join him for a swim for the third time in a row. I love him, but a small kernel of resentment has formed at the constant pressure to share his favorite pastime. It’s becoming a problem because I know the resentment is misdirected.

Either way, I need to get this taken care of. I make a mental note to speak to someone about it when we get back from our honeymoon.

I sigh and lean my throbbing head against the headrest. “I plead the fifth.”

A firm swipe of his hand upward, and he cups my sex. I gasp as my heart rate spikes. “Bullshit. Look at me, Bethany.” His middle finger is resting against my clit, applying subtle pressure.

I blink through the haze of arousal and look into his eyes.

“What the fuck’s going on?”

I worry my lower lip. “The swimming thing. It’s getting to me.”

His nod is neither understanding nor angry, just solemn acknowledgement of my angst. “I know it is. I’m not happy about it either, but we can shelve it for the time being.”

My eyes widen. “Really?”

“You have enough on your plate with the wedding. I don’t deny that I’m worried you’re not getting a handle on this now, but I’ll back down if you promise we’ll take care of it soon?”

I nod eagerly. “I promise.”

“Good. Now is there something else making you testy?”

I pout and his gaze drops to my mouth. “I hate that you have to come back without me tonight. And I have a killer hangover,” I admit with a groan.

A slow, heart-stopping smile transforms his face from gorgeous to dangerously sexy. “The painkillers you took before we left not working their magic?”

“Not even a little bit.”

He releases his seat belt and mine and pulls me closer. The scent of his aftershave and the warmth from his body soothes me as I relax against his sprawled form. It’s one of my favorite places to be, me with my back against his front.

“I hate the time apart too, but the Croatians are being difficult. They need personal attention or I’ll lose the deal. But I know your parents are looking forward to spending time with you. As for that hangover...”

“Hmm,” I hum.

“We don’t land for another seven minutes,” he whispers in my ear, his stubble deliciously rough against my cheek. “I’d really welcome the opportunity to make you feel a little better.”