The Last Boyfriend (7 page)

“Will you make us both a
hot chocolate if I can find the ingredients?” Zane pulled out a jar
of Cadbury’s drinking chocolate, and I opened the fridge to look
for some milk.

“Of course.”

“Will you dunk your legs
into the hot tub at least?” He smiled at me. “As we drink our hot
chocolate.”

“I guess I could do that.”
I laughed.

“Okay, I have Lorna Doone
shortbread and Oreos. Which one do you want?”

“Both.” I laughed and
grabbed an Oreo. “My parents used to call me the real cookie
monster.”

“Oh yeah?” He made a face.
“I used to be called Tickle Me Elmo.”

“Really? Why?”

“Because I love to tickle.”
He reached under my arms and started tickling me. I shrieked and
pulled away from him.

“Oh stop.” I laughed
hysterically. “I’m too ticklish.”

“Beg me to stop.” He looked
down at me, and I realized that he had me backed up to the counter.
I felt his bare chest pushing against me, and I couldn’t stop my
body from reverberating into his as he tickled me.

“Zane, please.” I gulped as
I stared into his blue devilish eyes.

“Beg me,” he purred down at
me silkily.

“I’m begging you, Zane.” I
put my hand on his forearm and we stood there still for a few
moments, just gazing into each other’s eyes.

“You have pretty hair.” He
said, distractedly.

“Thank you.”

“How old are you,
Lucky?”

“I’m 22.” I licked my lips
nervously and studied the cleft in his chin. “What about
you?”

“25.” He stared into my
eyes, unblinking.

“So many more playboy years
ahead for you then, huh?” I heard the words coming out of my lips,
and I wasn’t sure why I had said them.

“You could say that.” His
eyes crinkled, and he stepped back from me. I wanted to groan,
because my body missed the warmth of his so close to mine, but
instead, I turned around to spoon out some sugar into the cups. “So
you don’t have a boyfriend, huh?” I heard his voice whisper into my
ear, and I nearly jumped out of my skin at how close to me he was.
I could feel his chest against my back, and his breath was tickling
my ear.

“No, not right
now.”

“That’s a pity.”

“It is?”

“Yeah, a beautiful girl
like you needs a man to …”

“I don’t need a man for
anything.” I frowned, annoyed at his words.

“You obviously need a man
to take care of you.” He laughed and grabbed a cookie. “That’s not
a bad thing.”

“I don’t need anyone to
take care of me,” my voice rose, and I could feel my blood pressure
rising.

“Every girl I know needs a
man.”

“I’m not every girl you
know.” I narrowed my eyes and pushed past him. “I think I’m going
to skip the cookies and go to bed.”

“Wait, Lucky.” He grabbed
my shoulder and sighed. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I’m sure.” I rolled my
eyes at him, and I paused as I saw his eyes crinkle and look away
from me.

“You're not like other
girls are you, Lucky?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Shall we go and talk in
the hot tub?”

“No thanks.” I twirled
around. “I think I want to go to bed now.”

“You think I’m a jerk,
huh?”

“I think you are an
egotistical ass, yes.” I spat out, my harsh words belying the
calmness in my face.

“That’s heavy.” He
frowned.

“You date a different girl
every week and tell me I need a man. I think anyone would agree
with me. You are an ass.”

“I don’t date a different
girl every week. Just because I take a girl out for dinner, doesn’t
mean it’s a date.”

“I don’t even care.” I
sighed. “I have other things to worry about.”

“I told you, I will help
you with your car.”

“I don’t need your
help.”

“I need your help though.”
His voice was low. “Can we go and talk please?”

I looked at him
suspiciously. What help could he possibly need from me?

“Can’t it wait?” I yawned,
all excitement and adrenaline having left my body.

“It can wait.” He smiled at
me sweetly and stretched. I watched as his muscles flexed and I
found my eyes on his sexy chest again. He had a light spattering of
hair across his pecks, and I wanted to reach over and caress
it. I wanted my fingers to confirm that his hair
was as silky soft as it looked. I wanted to feel his arms
around me, holding me close. I wanted my head pressed against his
heart, listening to his heartbeat. Zane Beaumont was the guy I had
been fantasizing about for months, and now here he was in front of
me, in all his glory. I held in a groan. I was mad at myself for
wanting to be with this man, in all the wrong ways.

“I’m going to bed.” I
turned around and ran up the stairs quickly.

“I don’t bite, Lucky.” He
shouted up at me from the bottom of the stairs with a laugh, and I
ran quickly to my room. I jumped into the bed and stared at the
ceiling, breathing heavily. All I could picture was Zane’s face. I
sighed and rolled over and tried to think about something else, but
I couldn’t get him out of my mind. As I drifted to
sleep, images of Zane, on top of me and kissing me all
over, flooded my mind.

Chapter 4

“Lucky, are you
awake?”

“No.” I groaned from the
bed with my eyes still closed.

“Can I come in?” Zane’s
voice sounded too sexy for this hour of the day. “No.” I groaned
and rolled over in the bed.

I heard the door creak
slightly as it opened and Zane walked up to my bed. “Good morning,
Lucky.”

“Not really.” I rolled over
and peeked at him from under the covers. I was slightly
disappointed when I saw him wearing a grey t-shirt, and tried to
ignore the urge to reach up and pull him down to me.

“Sorry for waking you up,
but I figured we should go and get your car before it gets towed by
the police.”

“Oh shit.” I jumped up out
of the bed quickly. “I didn’t think about that.” I stumbled
slightly as I hit the ground and Zane grabbed me around the
waist.

“Careful. We can’t afford
to have you hurting yourself as well.”

“I’m fine.” I pulled away
from him reluctantly.

“Good.” He ran his hand
through his hair, and I watched as he rubbed the stubble around his
mouth. “So, I have a proposition for you.”

“Oh yeah?” I looked at him
in surprise, wondering what he was going to say.

“I think it’s something
that will work for both of us. You need money and I—” he continued,
with a silky voice.

“I’m not going to be your
paid escort,” I blurted out. “I may need the money, but I don’t
need it that bad.”

“Lucky, I was just
going—”

“I know you think I’m a
mess, and I need a man. But I don’t. I can look after myself. I
don’t need your money, and I don’t need you in my bed.”

“Who said anything about
bed?” He smirked.

“I don’t want to be your
sub.”

“My sub?” He frowned. “Like
my sandwich?”

“No.” I whispered slowly.
“I’m not a sexual deviant.”

“And I am?” His eyes
twinkled. “Lucky, how did you know I was going to ask you to be my
sub in exchange for paying for your car repairs?”

“Wait, what?” I frowned up
at him and groaned. “Sorry just ignore everything I have just said.
I think I’m still half asleep.”

“Were you dreaming about
being my sub?”

“No, of course
not.”

“So just normal sex
then.”

“Yeah.” I muttered and
flushed. “I mean no. I wasn’t dreaming about you at all. I don’t
even believe in casual sex. Well, not anymore.”

“Oh?” Zane sat down on the
bed and grinned at me.

“I need to go and shower.”
I turned away, flustered. “You made me confused waking me up out of
my sleep like that.”

“Don’t you want to hear my
idea first?”

“What idea?” I frowned,
looking back at him.

“Sit.” He patted the spot
next to him on the bed. “Sit, take a deep breath and
listen.”

I sat on the bed next to
him and looked at him curiously. “You’re really bossy, you know
that?”

“I know.” He grinned. “I
also know you’re not the quiet sweet girl you seemed to be at
Lou’s.”

“Disappointed?” I laughed,
self-consciously running my hand through my dark brown
hair.

“Not at all.” He turned
towards me and reached over and rubbed something by my eye. “Sorry,
you had some sleep in your eye.”

“Thanks.” I felt breathless
as his finger traced down my cheek.

“You’re beautiful.” His
words were slow, and he spoke as if in a trance. “You’re really
beautiful.”

“Thanks.” I bit my lip,
unsure of how to answer him. “I’m not really sure what to
say.”

“Can I kiss you?” He leaned
towards me, and I shook my head.

“No.” I held my breath,
hoping he would kiss me anyway.

“I love that.” He shook his
head, and laughed as he pulled away from me.

“Sure you do.”

“You’ve got a smart mouth,
huh?”

“Are you going to tell me
your idea before my car gets towed, Zane?” I tried to pretend that
I wasn’t completely and utterly dazzled by him. “I don’t have all
day.”

“I’m looking for someone to
be my part-time assistant.” He paused. “And I like and trust you,
and I know from seeing you at Lou’s that you have a strong work
ethic.”

“You what?” I looked at him
like he was crazy. That was the last thing I had expected to hear.
“You want me to work for you?”

“I know that’s not as
exciting as being my sub, but I need a girl Friday so to speak and
you need money, so I thought that perhaps we could make something
work.”

“I don’t know.” I frowned.
“Between school and the diner, I don’t have much time.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to
find someone else.” He jumped up off of the bed and walked towards
the door, pausing and looking back at me just before he walked out.
“Do you have any other suggestions for your car?”

“I, wait, what?” I jumped
up and shook my head. “I didn’t say no, I just said I don’t
know.”

“Lucky.” He frowned at me.
“I don’t have time to mess around.”

“What?” I walked towards
him. “You have barely even given me a second to think about
this.”

He sighed and looked away
from me. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Maybe you wouldn’t be such
a—”

“I accept the position.” My
voice was firm and loud. I was angry at how dismissive he was
being. “I accept the position, and I would like us to go and get my
car now.”

“Okay.” He grinned. “Meet
me downstairs in five minutes.”

“Wait, aren’t we going to
discuss this further?”

“We can talk later.” He
exited the room and called back. “Downstairs in five
minutes.”

I rushed to the en suite
bathroom and quickly washed my face. I wasn’t sure what I had just
accepted, but I felt really excited. Excited and scared at the same
time. Zane Beaumont was not the sort of guy I should be getting
involved with deeper. I knew it in my soul, but something was
drawing me closer and closer to him.

“I’m going downstairs now,
Lucky.” I heard Zane’s voice, and I quickly rushed back into the
room and pulled on my clothes.

“I’m coming.” I ran down
the stairs puffing, and I saw Zane laughing at me as I
joined him in the foyer.

“You could have been a few
minutes late.” He laughed and grabbed his car keys, and I scowled
at him. “Most girls are.”

“I’m not most girls.” I
followed him out of the front door and ran my fingers through my
hair to get the knots out. I got into the passenger side of the
car, and Zane pulled out of the driveway wordlessly. “So what’s the
plan?” I asked impatiently.

“The plan?” He looked at me
sideways and raised his eyebrows.

“What am I going to be
doing as your assistant?”

“Catering to my every
whim.” He smirked and whipped out his phone. “Hey Gus, I’m towing a
friends car to your garage. Work on it, fix it, and bill me,
okay?”

I looked at him wide-eyed
as he spoke to someone on the phone and I frowned. How dare he just
take control over what was going to happen to my car?

“I’m not sure what
happened, but it broke down last night. Yeah, on the highway. She’s
lucky I was there.” He hung up, and I leaned over to
him.

“You didn’t even ask if I
wanted my car towed to your friend’s.”

“He’s not my friend. He’s
my mechanic, and he’s one of the best in Miami. It seemed to me
that you didn’t have anywhere else that you wanted it to
go.”