The Last Boyfriend (8 page)

“That’s not the point.” I
sighed. “You can’t just make a decision like that for me. I already
have a quote. I have no idea how much this guy is going to
charge.”

“Let me worry about
that.”

“I don’t want to let you
worry about that, if that’s okay with you,” I said
sarcastically.

“Do you have something
against men, Lucky?”

“Do you have something
against women?” I shook my head. “You’re insufferable, Zane
Beaumont.”

“I think I’m being a pretty
nice guy.” He shot a grin at me, and I turned away from him. I
heard his phone ringing and rolled my eyes as I heard his voice
purr into the phone.

“Morning deary.” I felt
jealous as he spoke into the phone and quickly took out my phone to
see if I had any messages. I felt a warm thrill shoot through me as
I saw I had a text from Braydon, asking if I had gotten home okay.
I text him back quickly, trying to ignore Zane sweet-talking some
girl on the phone.

“Maybe we can go for
dinner?” He purred. “I’m not available for lunch today.”

“Don’t decline because of
me,” I hissed towards him, and I saw him frown as he pulled up
behind my car, still talking into the phone.

“Angelique, can I call you
back later?” He stopped the car, and I jumped out, not wanting to
hear him sweet talk the leggy blonde I had met the night before.
“Lucky, get back in the car.” Zane got out of his car and shouted
at me as I walked to my car. “It’s too dangerous for you to be
standing on the side of the road.”

“Can I check my car
please?” I huffed. “You are not my dad, Zane. Stop bossing me
about.”

“We are on a highway,
Lucky. Stop being a baby and get in the car.” He shouted at me and
grabbed my arm.

“Ow, that hurts.” I
squealed as he dragged me back to his car. “I want to check my
car.”

“It’s the same as it was
yesterday, Lucky.” He grunted as he opened the door. “Sit
down.”

“Or what?”

“You don’t want to know
what.”

“You’re a real asshole.” I
scowled at him and crouched back as he leaned in towards
me.

“Lucky, you are the most …”
His voice drifted off as he kissed me, and I closed my eyes as his
lips crushed down on mine. I allowed him to push his tongue into my
mouth for a few seconds before I pulled away from him.

“What are you doing?” I
asked, breathlessly.

“Shutting you up.” He
grinned and slammed the door shut, as I was about to shout at him.
I sat back and watched as he pulled out his phone. Within a few
seconds, I saw a tow truck pull up in front of my car, and I
watched as Zane walked up to greet the tow truck guy. I sat in the
car for a little bit, hoping to catch my breath before I got out of
the car. I touched my lips softly, wondering at the tingle I still
felt in them. I had never been kissed like that before: hard,
passionately, and all taking. I was angry and light-headed at
Zane’s touch, and as I got out of the car, I realized that I had
feelings for Zane. Feelings that made me think that accepting a
position working for him would be a bad idea.

I walked up to the tow
truck guy and ignored Zane’s glare. “Hi, I’m Lucky Morgan, the
owner of the car.”

“Uh, hello Ms. Morgan.” The
tow-truck looked at me curiously as I gave him my hand. “I’ll have
this over to the mechanic within 30 minutes.”

“Thank you.”

“Lucky, didn’t I tell you
to stay in the car?” Zane’s voice was low and angry.

“I think my head gasket is
gone.” I continued talking to the tow truck guy. “You can let the
mechanic know.”

“Yes ma’am.” The man looked
at Zane and then me, and walked back to his truck
quickly.

“How dare you talk to me
like that?” I hissed at Zane.

“Lucky—”

“Don’t you Lucky me.” I
pointed at him. “You can’t treat me like one of your
doozies.”

“Will you please stop
dissing the girls that I date?” Zane looked at me with a frown.
“Jealousy is not a becoming trait.”

“I’m not jealous of
anyone.”

“I don’t want you to be
confused, Lucky.” Zane grabbed my hands. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t
have kissed you.”

“I’m not confused. You kiss
a lot of girls, I’m sure.”

“I ...,” he paused and
looked away. “I’m not looking for a relationship.”

“I figured that
much.”

“But I like you. I hope we
can be friends.” He squeezed my hand, and I felt my eyes grow
heavy.

“Sure.”

“Let’s go to breakfast, and
we can discuss the job.”

“I think Braydon wants to
take me to breakfast or an early lunch.” I suddenly
remembered.

“Braydon Eagle?” He
frowned.

“Yes.”

“Tell him no.” We walked
back to his car, and he opened my door for me. I got into the car
and pulled out my phone.

“I don’t think so.” I
pretended to dial some numbers.

“Lucky. Do not go on a date
with Braydon Eagle.”

“Why not?”

“He’s not the guy for
you.”

“Why not? Is he a
player like you?”

“Lucky.” He put his finger
under my chin and stared at me hard. “Don’t test my
patience.”

“Or what?” I rolled my eyes
as he got into the car next to me, and I put my phone in my bag
again.

“Can you just trust me
here, Lucky?”

“Why? I don’t even know
you.”

“You know me.” His eyes
bore into me, and I sighed. He was right. I knew that at the end of
the day, he was a nice guy. He had always been a nice guy to me at
the restaurant; what he did with the other women had nothing to do
with me.

“Fine, let’s go to
breakfast.” I let out a huge sigh and shook my head at him. “I
don’t understand you, Zane Beaumont.”

“Sometimes I don’t
understand myself either.” His tone was tinged with irony and
another emotion I couldn’t place. “But thank you for giving me a
chance.” His hand reached over to my knee, and he squeezed it,
looking at me gratefully.

“I don’t know why.” I
whispered under my breath. I stared out of the window, wondering
what I was doing. I felt like I was Alice and I was now in
Wonderland. Everything I felt was upside down, and a part of my
brain was telling me to just forget my rules and let this path take
me wherever it wanted to go.

“I didn’t wait all night
for you to stop dancing around the room with Braydon like a
contestant on Dancing With the Stars for nothing.” Zane muttered,
and I gasped.

“Wait? You were waiting to
make sure I didn’t go home with Braydon last night, weren’t you?” I
looked over at Zane, glaring at his causal demeanor.

“I told you. I wanted to
make sure you got home okay,” Zane growled, and looked at me
quickly. “You don’t need to be hanging out with Braydon Eagle,
Lucky.”

“Because you’re so much
better, right?” I barked out at him and sat back, scared as Zane
pulled over to the side of the highway, stopped, and turned towards
me.

“I have to tell you
something, Lucky.”

Chapter 5

“What you have to tell me
has to be said on the side of the road and not in a restaurant?” I
asked sarcastically.

“Will you just let me
talk?”

“I suppose that’s my duty,
so go ahead.” I bowed my head submissively with my hands clasped in
my lap and waited for him to talk.

“Lucky, you’re too much.
You know that, right?”

“I’m waiting.”

“Let’s go and get
breakfast, and I will tell you after we eat.”

“Are you joking me right
now, Zane Beaumont? You’re not just going to keep me hanging, are
you?”

“I need a tall, black
coffee before I can deal with you, Lucky.” He laughed, and started
the car and pulled back onto the road.

“I need pancakes and
bacon.” I licked my lips and laughed at his words. Why was it was
easy to forgive Zane and his comments?

“I don’t like my subs
eating bacon.” There was a lightness in Zane’s voice, and I laughed
at his deep husky voice.

“You’re never going to let
me off for that comment, are you?”

“Well, it’s not every day
that a girl asks me if I want her to be my sub.” He paused for a
moment. “And you know that I have to ask why you even asked me that
now.”

“Argh,” I groaned,
embarrassed.

“Is there something I
should know about you, Lucky? Are you a student and server by day
and a dominatrix by night?”

“Uhm, if I was a
dominatrix, I wouldn’t be asking you if you wanted me to
be your sub,” I laughed.

“So you know a lot about
that world, huh?” Zane looked at me quickly with a slight grin, and
I punched his shoulder.

“Actually, no.” I laughed.
“I’ve read a few books that were about couples who were living
those lifestyles.”

“And it made you
interested?”

“No.” My voice was sharper
than I had intended. “No. I don’t think I would be cut out to be a
dom or a sub.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so
either.”

“What does that
mean?”

“Just that I can’t see you
in either role in the bedroom.”

“You’ve thought about me in
the bedroom?” I gasped out, surprised and slightly
tickled.

“Well, no.” He laughed.
“Let’s change the subject. I don’t want to get myself in trouble
again.”

“Uh huh.” I knew I was
taking the conversation down a slippery path, but I felt a flush
run through me as I thought about him thinking about me. It was a
warm and happy feeling, and I wanted to hold on to it as long as
possible.

“I think you’re addicted to
sex.”

“What?” I
laughed.

“You’re always bringing it
up.”

“No, I’m not.” I rolled my
eyes.

“Yes you are.”

“Then let’s make a bet now.
The next person to bring up sex has to give the other
person—”

“A naked massage.” Zane
interrupted me as he pulled into a parking lot.

“You wish.” I rolled my
eyes.

“Maybe I do.” He licked his
lips, and we got out of the car.

“Starting from now, the
next person that mentions sex has to give the other person
$100.”

“Whoa Lucky, I don’t want
to take your money.”

“I’ll be taking yours and
I’m not worried about taking it.” We both laughed and walked into
the IHOP.

“Oh Lucky, so honest and so
confident.”

“I’m thinking about what
I’m going to spend my $100 on,” I purred, as we walked to our
table. I opened the menu eagerly, trying to decide what I wanted to
eat. My stomach was growling at the smell of grease, and I wanted
to stuff my face with many items on the menu.

“Do you know what you want
to get?”

“I want to get eggs, bacon,
sausage, pancakes, toast, and hash browns.” I laughed. “And I’m
also eyeing the crepes.”

“Small
appetite.”

“Well you know how we
supermodels do it.”

“Oh of course, you need a
big breakfast before the catwalk.”

“Exactly, or the wind will
blow us away.”

“We can’t have the wind
blowing you away now.” Zane winked at me, and I leaned towards him
with a grin.

“Exactly, not when I’m
doing a service to mankind, showing off ugly dresses that cost
thousands of dollars.”

“If you want me to buy you
one such dress, let me know.”

“I can afford to buy it
myself …” I laughed. “Goodwill has plenty of designs that match
those on the catwalk, and I can buy several outfits for
$20.”

“Well then, here you go.”
Zane took out his wallet and dropped $20 on the table. “Go crazy on
me.”

I grabbed the $20 and used
it to fan myself. “Why thank you, Mr. Beaumont, I do say I think
you are my hero right now.” I spoke in a deep Southern accent, and
he laughed.

“Maybe I should introduce
you to my dad, it seems to me that you could have a huge career in
acting.”

“Why, whatever do you mean,
kind sir? I’m no actress, I’m just a Southern belle.”

“I do like me a Southern
belle.” At this point, Zane and I were staring into each other’s
eyes, and our faces were inches away from each other. If I
moved forward slightly, our lips would be touching.

“Hi, thanks for coming to
IHOP. Can I get you guys some drinks?” A sour-looking, older lady
was standing at the table, glaring at us, and I sat back quickly,
embarrassed to have been caught in a non-intimate, intimate
moment.

“Can I have a small orange
juice and a glass of coffee, please?” I smiled at the lady, and she
stared back at me with a surly look.

“And you, sir?” She turned
away from me and looked at Zane.