She caught her breath. “Is voyeurism a new fetish of yours?”

  “No. But it could be, if the subject I kept watching was you.” He moved closer. “You didn’t answer my question about swimming. I was thinking we could skinny-dip.”

  Her skin tingled beneath her clothes. “It’s not a private beach. One of your neighbors could see us. Or record us.”

  He stood close enough to kiss her, without actually doing it. “Then it’ll be your first nude scene.”

  He was teasing her, she thought, and using their conversation as foreplay. He had no intention of creating a public scandal with her.

  He escorted her inside, and as soon as he closed the door, he kissed her for real. She moaned, clinging to him like a reed in the wind. In the chaos of the kiss, her purse slipped off her shoulder and onto the floor. He nearly stepped on it, but she didn’t care. She ached to have him inside her, to have the roughest, rowdiest night of her life.

  He scooped her up and carried her to his room, dropping her straight onto his oversize bed. He’d left it unmade, for this purpose, no doubt, and she landed on the mattress with a thud, the sheets bunching around her.

  He crawled on top of her, pulling at her blouse, tugging at her boho skirt. Her shoes were trendy flats. He got rid of those in two seconds.

  She wasn’t able to divest him of his clothes, because she was pinned beneath him while he went after hers. Her itty-bitty panties aroused the beast in him. He nearly tore them in his attempt to yank them off. Once she was naked, he went down on her, lifting her legs onto his shoulders.

  He used his tongue, and she writhed against him. This time oral sex was the appetizer, not the main course.

  She reached back to grip the posts on the headboard, struggling to think beyond what he was doing to her. He worked his magic, and she tightened her grip on the posts, her vision blurring, her body feeling like it was splintering into fragments.

  He made her come so fast, she barely knew what hit her.

  He released her legs from his shoulders, and she sprawled out like a sacrifice before him. She couldn’t seem to keep her thighs together.

  He peeled off his T-shirt and ditched his jeans. He wasn’t wearing underwear, and his erection sprang free. She reached for him, and he kissed her, his mouth covering hers.

  At some point, he pulled away to grab a condom from the nightstand and put it to good use. Then, as he braced himself above her, he said, “I want to make this last.”

  Was he referring to this specific encounter or the longevity of their actual affair? She didn’t ask him to clarify. Eventually, it would all come to an end.

  He entered her, and she lifted her hips to meet his generous thrusts. They kissed; they moaned; they rolled over the bed and knocked his pillows onto the floor. The room was softly lit, a glass-domed lamp providing a nighttime glow.

  They kept changing positions, bending and shaping their bodies to fit. At some point, she landed on top, straddling his lap. She felt like a dancer, and he looked like an athlete. The strength of his arms, the definition in his legs, the ripple of muscle along his abs. Was it a six-pack? An eight-pack? She didn’t know, but she rode him with lust and fury.

  He reared up to kiss her, and soon he was on top again, thrusting with heat and passion. She moved with him, matching his rhythm.

  Margot came first, bucking and convulsing and clawing his back. He followed her, immersed in his own fiery pleasure and making primal sounds.

  A few quiet minutes later, he got up to dispose of the condom, and she steadied her breathing.

  When he returned, he stood beside the bed and stared at her. She leaned against the headboard and stared back at him.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked, breaking the silence. “I can fix us a snack.”

  “Sure, why not?” She wouldn’t mind having a little something. “Should I wait here or do you want to eat at the table?”

  “You can wait here.” He rummaged through his dresser, removed a pair of boxers and climbed into them.

  After he left the room, she put her bra and panties back on, then returned the pillows to the bed and fluffed them. Zeke’s bedroom was as striking as the rest of his condo, decorated in bold colors and aquatic artwork, showcasing big, bright paintings of the sea.

  A short while later, he reappeared with a tray of food. She took one look at their snacks and sputtered into laughter. He’d made Dagwood sandwiches, the ingredients piled hilariously high between three slices of bread. In lieu of toothpicks, he’d used bamboo skewers to hold them together.

  He grinned. “What can I say? I worked up an appetite.”

  “No kidding. But how am I supposed to eat that? First of all, that’s way too much food for me. And secondly, I don’t take ginormous bites out of stuff the way you do.”

  “I know. But you normally pick everything apart, so I figured you’d dissect it, anyway, and just eat the parts you like.”

  She shrugged, deciding that he was right. She’d always been a fussy eater. “What kind of drinks are those?” She couldn’t see the labels on the canned beverages he’d brought.

  “Flavored water.” He tossed her one.

  She caught it, hoping it didn’t explode when she opened it.

  He handed her a plastic plate with a sandwich. She didn’t bother asking what was in it. She would find out once she started taking it apart.

  He sat across from her and opened his water.

  “Can I have that one?” she asked.

  “Why? They’re the same flavor.”

  “It’s carbonated, and mine got shaken up.”

  He switched cans with her. She sipped from the safe one, and he flipped the top on the questionable one. Only it was fine. No fizzy overload. He smiled and toasted her with it.

  Smart aleck, she thought. She removed the skewer from her sandwich, got rid of the extra slice of bread and pulled some of the meat and cheese out. It was a messy business, and when she got avocado and mayo on her fingers, she licked it off. She glanced up and felt her cheeks go hot. Zeke was watching her.

  Just as she reached for a napkin, he said, “I want our affair to be exclusive this time.”

  She hastily replied, “Neither of us was with anyone else last time.”

  “I know. But we left it open so that we could’ve been. And I don’t want to take the chance of you dating someone else while you’re with me. Not just Jordan. You already said that you weren’t going to see him. But other guys, too.”

  “I’m not interested in anyone else.” She had no desire for another man. “I need to get my fill of you first.”

  “I need to do that with you, too.” He gave her a possessive look. “I guess that makes it official, then. Our affair is exclusive.”

  “Yes,” she replied, and they both went quiet.

  He lifted his sandwich and took a hearty bite, and she continued picking at hers. By the time he was almost done, she’d barely made a dent in hers. But she didn’t want any more, anyway.

  “Do you know what time it is?” she asked. She didn’t see a clock in his room. “I told my mom that I’d be home by eleven.”

  He leaned over to retrieve his phone from the nightstand drawer. He glanced at the screen. “It’s nine thirty-eight. Does your mom know that you’re hanging out with me tonight?”

  Margot shook her head. “I didn’t want her to get suspicious of us spending too much time together, so I said that I was going out with some friends from my cycling class.”

  “Does Bailey know what we’re up to again?”

  She nodded. “I couldn’t bring myself to lie to her. She isn’t pleased about it, but I knew she wouldn’t be.”

  “I don’t care what she thinks. I just want to do wicked things with you.” He roamed his gaze over her. “Do you want to have another go at it?”

  Her pulse all but jumped. “There’s no time. I need to make myself presentable before I leave, not go home looking like some unknown man ravished me.”

  “We can make it quick. Besides, I like ravishing you.”

  “I like it, too.” Way too much, she thought. “But maybe I should get ready to go now, before you tempt me into taking chances I shouldn’t take.” Determined to keep her wits about her, she asked, “Will you get my purse for me? I left it in the entryway, and it has my makeup in it. I packed a wide-tooth comb for untangling my hair, too.”

  “Sounds like you came prepared. But are you sure I can’t make you change your mind?”

  “Please, Zeke, just get my purse and bring it into the bathroom. I really need to get ready to go.”

  “All right. But you can’t blame me for trying.” He headed for the door. “I’ll be back in a flash.”

  She went into the master bath, and while he was gone, she took inventory of his toiletries: his liquid soap, his cologne, the electric razor he used.

  He returned with her purse and set it on the counter. But he didn’t leave. He stood behind her, so they were both reflected in the mirror.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Admiring you.” He moved closer. “You’re beautiful, Margot. So damned beautiful.”

  Her hair was tousled, her mascara was smeared and her lipstick was gone. She looked like what she was: his reckless lover. And now she wanted him again.

  “Is your offer still good to make it quick?” she asked, her voice going breathy, her common sense flying out the window.

  “Hell, yes.” He opened the medicine cabinet, showing her that he had a box of condoms in there.

  “Then do it.” She was still in her panties and bra, easily accessible to him. She focused on the mirror, eager to watch.

  In the next wild instant, he pulled her panties past her hips. He shoved his boxers down, too, and snagged a condom, cursing when the wrapper took too long to open. Finally, he sheathed himself, and Margot pitched forward, getting ready for him. He thrust into her, and she gripped the sink and gazed ravenously at their reflections.

  He moved in and out, nibbling on her neck, behaving like a stallion covering a mare. She turned on the water and splashed herself, getting him wet, too. But he didn’t lose his stride. He maintained the pounding rhythm.

  He took her so hard and fast the room began to spin. She could barely see straight, let alone watch their activity in the mirror anymore.

  She came in a flurry, shaking while he spilled into her.

  After he was done, he wrapped his arms around her, anchoring her so she didn’t slump to the floor. She still needed to right her appearance and go home.

  As if nothing had happened at all.

  * * *

  Zeke wasn’t sure what was happening. The only thing he was certain of was an overwhelming need to see Margot again. But what did he expect? They were friends as well as lovers and that was a powerful combination. Besides, he liked her kid, too. So here he was on Monday evening, hanging out with her and Liam. He’d come to Hollywood tonight to meet with a prospective client, so he’d stopped by her place afterward, using the old “I was in the neighborhood” excuse to show up at her door.

  She sat next to him on the sofa, and they formed Liam’s captive audience. The boy was reading his Pluto report to them, the way he was going to have to do in front of his class. His project was due tomorrow.

  After he finished rattling it off, his mom said, “That was really good. But try it again, and slow down a bit. You were going a little too fast.”

  “Okay.” He took a big, exaggerated breath and went through it one more time.

  He enunciated the words he’d missed before, making everything sharper. He looked cute, too, his sandy-brown hair filled with static electricity from where he’d been rubbing the back of his head against the wall. He grinned when he was finished, and Zeke shot him a thumbs-up.

  “That was perfect,” Margot said. “I’m so proud of the work you’ve done on this. You wrote a really informative report, and the map you did is wonderful, too. But I think you better go take your bath and get ready for bed now.”

  Liam made a disgruntled face. “Can’t I stay up a little longer?”

  Margot shook her head. “No, sorry. It’s a school night. Besides, you need to be refreshed for tomorrow.”

  “I guess.” Liam gathered his papers. “Can Zeke tuck me in after my bath? I can come down and let him know when I’m ready.”

  “I think that would be okay.” Margot turned to Zeke. “If it’s all right with you.”

  “It’s totally fine.” He didn’t mind tucking her son into bed. He imagined tucking her in, too, or just flat out spending the night with her. But he knew that wasn’t possible. They might be having an affair, but it wasn’t a relationship. They weren’t heading back into something deeper. They both knew better than to get too wrapped up in each other. But for now, the sex felt damned good. He couldn’t help but crave more time with her.

  “I’ll be back.” Liam dashed upstairs, leaving the adults alone.

  They stayed silent, until Margot moved closer to Zeke and asked, “Did you really have a meeting in the neighborhood?”

  “Yes, I did. But it was also a good excuse to see you. Truthfully, I could’ve let Vick take the meeting.” His partner had been available to do it. “But you know what would be fun? If you and I could arrange for a few days together. It would be great to go away somewhere, instead of me finding excuses to come here or you sneaking over to my place. But only if you’re okay with leaving Liam with your mom. I wouldn’t want you to do anything that would upset him.”

  “Liam loves being with my mom, and she adores being with him. She already watches him for me when I work or whenever I go out, so I don’t see why it would upset him. He’ll probably think it’ll be fun with the way she indulges him.” She hesitated. “But if you and I slip away, where would we go?”

  “There’s a remote house in the mountains that I’ve booked for some of my clients. It has a grotto and a lagoon-style pool, surrounded by forest. We could go skinny-dipping there, without having to worry about anyone seeing us.”

  She smiled. “You do have a one-track mind.”

  He smiled, too. “I just want to get naked with you, however I can.” He searched her gaze. “So, will you talk to your mom about watching Liam?”

  “Yes, but I’ll need to come up with a story about where I’m going. I can’t exactly say that I’m spending a few days with you. That’s just a little too close for comfort.” She sighed. “I guess I could say that I’m doing some spa days at a private resort.”

  “Whatever works. But let me check first to see what dates are available. I might have to pull some strings to make it happen sooner rather than later.”

  “All right. Just let me know. But we shouldn’t keep talking about this. I don’t want Liam to come back and overhear us.”

  They switched to another topic, and by the time her son showed up in his pjs, they were acting as casual as could be.

  Zeke had never tucked a child into bed before, but he was going to give it his best effort.

  He headed upstairs with Liam, doing his damnedest not to glance back at Margot or shoot her a hungry look. He couldn’t wait for their clandestine getaway. He was going to try to arrange it as quickly as possible.

  He cleared his mind and entered Liam’s room, a big, bright space full of movie and sports posters, crates of toys, shelves of comic books, a snazzy entertainment center and a metal bunk bed.

  Liam said, “I sleep on the bottom because it’s bigger. The top is for when I have a friend stay over. There’s also a trundle under here.” He gestured to the area below the bottom bunk. “It’s for guests, too.”

  “Have you had any friends stay over?”

  “Not yet, but Mom said I can have pool parties and sleepovers in the summer.” Liam crawled into the bottom bunk and pulled up the covers. “Did you have your own room when you were a kid?”

  Zeke sat on the edge of the bed. “Yes, I did. Bailey and I grew up in a mansion in Beverly Hills, so there were lots of rooms. Our mother is an actress, and our dad was her agent.”

  “Really? Is your mom famous?”

  Zeke nodded. “Very much so. Her name is Eva Mitchell. But you might not know who she is because her movies are from a long time ago.” In the really early days, when she’d first started getting famous, she’d used her maiden name. But Zeke doubted that would make a difference to Liam.

  The boy went quiet for minute, giving Zeke a baffled look. “I thought you and Bailey had different dads.”

  “We do. I told you that before.”

  “Yeah, but now you’re making it sound like you have the same one. You just called the guy who was your mom’s agent our dad.”

  “I’m sorry. I should have made that clear. My father died when I was a baby, and my mom married her agent, a man named Caine Mitchell. He adopted me and gave me his last name. Then they had Bailey about five years later.”

  “Oh, wow.” Liam’s eyes grew wide. “You’re adopted, like me.”

  “I most surely am. I loved my adoptive dad. He was everything to me. I was really sad when he died.”

  “Does it make you sad that your first dad died, too?”

  Zeke nodded. “I have lots of pictures of him. He was a movie stuntman, and he was even bigger and taller than I am. I got my features from him. He was Choctaw and Samoan.” When he realized that Liam didn’t have a clue what that meant, he explained, “The Choctaw are a Native American tribe, and Samoans are indigenous Polynesian people from the islands of Samoa. My dad was born there. It’s a beautiful place. I’ve been visiting my grandfather there since I was a kid.”

  “That’s nice,” Liam said thoughtfully. “But are you ever going to get married again or have kids?”

  “I don’t know.” The question threw him for a loop. How was he supposed to consider that while he was messing around with Margot?

 

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