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the last two days had been hell compared to the ones before it . |
he felt restless , miserable , and he constantly snapped at his staff . |
he needed something more in his life . |
he needed annie . |
being with her had been fun . |
no , that word did n't even begin to describe how he 'd felt when they were together . |
sure , they 'd laughed a lot , but for some reason , just being with annie made him feel comfortable . |
comfortable and accepted . |
she did n't treat him like other women did , agreeing with him and accepting his decisions . |
she challenged him , she laughed at him and allowed him to laugh at her . |
she talked to him as if he were her equal , and he felt like he 'd found someone on his own level . |
someone he could respect . |
someone who brightened his life . |
someone he wanted to be with beyond this week . |
someone he wanted to be with . |
someone he wanted in his life . |
zack reached for the phone and dialed five digits then hung up . |
he paced behind his desk a few times then picked up the phone again . |
he got to the sixth before slamming it down . |
he turned to the glass wall and stared out at the sprawling city below . |
somewhere to his left annie was probably still in her meeting with dog-e whats-his-name . |
there was no point calling her yet . |
maybe in another ten minutes ... |
he drummed his fingers on the pane of glass . |
ever since he 'd made up his mind to call her he 'd worked on his speech . |
eventually he decided to just wing it . |
his words would all depend on her mood anyway . |
surely she would n't be mad at him any longer , not after two days . |
he wondered if she 'd thought of him at all . |
he 'd thought of her , constantly . |
not even selling stancorp had made him feel better . |
usually off-loading a company pepped up his mood , but not this time . |
this time it would take only one thing to lift him out of the doldrums-hearing annie 's voice . |
no , more than that-kissing annie . |
better yet , making love to her . |
feeling her body beneath his , warm , supple and eager ... |
the office was n't the most convenient place to be thinking about annie naked . |
he picked up the phone again and dialed her work number , this time getting through all the digits . |
he dialed her cell phone . |
he 'd have to visit her at home . |
what he needed to say could n't wait any longer . |
he 'd always been the sort of person to confront his fears and it was time to tackle this one head on . |
chapter 17 annie got the phone call that dug-e had signed when she got home . |
bob , unable to contain his excitement , said he was coming over with the contract for her to sign as dug-e 's representing agent . |
she had enough time for a quick shower and change of clothes . |
the knock came as she stepped out of the water . |
wrapping a towel around her she opened the door without looking through the peephole . |
`` that was quick ... |
zack stood in the doorway , arms flexed at his sides , feet slightly apart and face unshaved . |
he wore a dark suit , his tie a little off-center , and sunglasses which hid any emotions he might be feeling . |
but intense vibrations crossed the space between his body and hers . |
his voice was as rough as the rockies . |
zack did n't move but his eyes , barely visible beneath the dark glasses , roamed across her towel-clad body . |
it was a possessive gesture and sent a thrill through her . |
there was a hint of a threat in his tone . |
`` just bob for our regular after-work tryst . '' |
his mouth fell open and his brows rose above his sunglasses . |
`` just kidding , '' she sang as she turned and walked back inside . |
`` he 's bringing around dug-e 's contract for me to sign . '' |
she heard him follow her inside before he said , `` so you got dug-e ? |
was it the bike that convinced him ? '' |
she swung round , ready to face him now that she 'd regained her composure . |
wow , he was handsome . |
she bit the inside of her lip and forced herself to concentrate . |
she was not going to end up in bed with him . |
`` i went as myself . |
no motorbike , no flirting , no tight leather pants . |
i could n't represent him as someone i was n't . |
i 'm not so bad really . |
and anyone who does n't like me as i am can lump it . |
she felt better , lighter . |
if only she 'd said something like that to her father when he 'd been alive , maybe he would n't have kept pressuring her to be someone she was n't . |
as if caught by a hook , slowly the corner of zack 's mouth twitched up until his lips stretched into a broad smile . |
he came to her and placed his hands on her shoulders . |
he stared into her eyes , lifted one hand and traced her cheek with his fingertip . |
she went weak at the knees and hot all over . |
she was n't supposed to give in so easily . |
`` i like the real annie better . |
i 'm sure dug-e will too . '' |
she nodded dumbly , his words not quite registering . |
she tried to think of the right words to tell him she was n't going to sleep with him again while her insides did back flips . |
he really was n't making it easy for her . |
`` um , zack , we can't- . '' |
but she got no further . |
he placed a finger to her lips and kissed her forehead tenderly . |
i 've got something i have to say or i 'll explode . |
these last two days have been ... boring . '' |
he smiled crookedly down at her . |
`` okay , they 've been worse than boring . |
they 've been hell . '' |
she drew in a deep breath to still her trembling nerves , but she was n't giving in just yet . |
there were things that needed sorting out before she would submit to the powerful urge to shower him with kisses . |
`` good , '' she said carefully . |
`` they 've been hell for me too . '' |
his grin was just like the one in the photo she 'd seen of him as a little boy . |
he bent his head and kissed her lips tenderly . |
she wanted more but she resisted . |
`` no more , zack . '' |
she put her hands on his chest and pushed him lightly away . |
`` i need to know what i am to you . |