All her life she had watched her mother humour her father every which way to try and keep his love, to keep him at her side. Well, Sally was made of sterner stuff. She took after her maternal grandma in character, and she was nobody’s fool.
Sally had fallen in lust at the hands of an expert—as many a woman had before—and to drive the lesson home she rose to her feet, straightened her shoulders and returned to the cabinet. She brushed her hair back from her face and fastened it in a ponytail with the black band left by Zac’s last lover. A salutary reminder of what a naïve idiot she had been even to think of trying to impress a man who quite happily had sex with two women in the same week…No wonder he kept a whole box of condoms and never, even in the heat of passion, forgot to use one, she thought bitterly. As for loving such a man—never.
She returned to the bedroom and, gathering her scattered clothes from the floor and bed, swiftly put them on. Then, picking up her purse and slipping her feet into her sandals, she left the scene of her downfall without a second glance.
Chapter Eleven
ZAC turned as she entered the dining room. ‘You have dressed. I thought you might simply grab a robe. Or at least I hoped,’ he said, with a wickedly sensual smile.
‘I never thought,’ she murmured, and tried to smile when really she felt like cursing him to hell and back. Then, directing her attention to the dishes of food laid out on the dining table, along with two plates and glasses plus a bottle of wine in an ice bucket, she added, ‘This smells delicious. I am ravenous.’ Actually, the reverse was true—she had totally lost her appetite—but she was determined not to let Zac know.
Standing there, in jeans and a polo shirt, he was all arrogant male, and he would scent weakness a mile off, she knew.
‘Dinner is served, my lady.’ He gave her a sweeping bow and pulled out a chair for her, then waited until she’d sat down. With a flourish he opened the wine, which turned out to be champagne, and, filling her glass, gave a toast. ‘To us—and long may we last!’
Reluctantly she sipped the sparkling vintage. ‘To us,’ she responded, and forced herself to smile again, when basically she felt like scratching his eyes out. But she could not afford to.
No matter how much she despised his morals, or lack of them, she still had to stick to their deal until Zac decided otherwise. Her mother’s future happiness was at stake, short though that future might be.
Bitterly she wondered how he could almost have sex with her one night, make love to the willowy Margot the next, then have the audacity to demand Sally become his lover the following night. She wasn’t jealous, she told herself, simply disgusted. For a brief space of time she had let herself become besotted by a man. Well, never again, she vowed silently…
The food looked great, but she had to make herself eat, and every morsel tasted like ash in her mouth. She refused the sweet, and his offer of more champagne, and watched him fill his glass again. Then she lifted her own to take a sip of the now flat liquid.
‘I’ve been thinking, Sally.’
She raised her head and met his dark eyes across the table.
‘We should renegotiate our arrangement and place it on a more intimate basis.’
She almost choked on the champagne. Was he crazy? She might be inexperienced, but she was pretty sure they could not possibly be more intimate than they already were.
‘I know we made a deal, and you stated your guidelines, but I want to change them—for the benefit of both of us. I would like you to move in here.’
He sounded as if he was discussing some business deal in a boardroom, and she was too shocked to speak.
‘You know the sex between us is incredible, but you have to admit, nice as your studio is, the bed is a little too small—especially for me.’ He shrugged his broad shoulders. ‘Whereas here we have plenty of space and you can enjoy every comfort money allows,’ Zac offered. ‘Plus, I am a very busy man. I had intended taking a few weeks’ holiday, but a project I am involved in is not going as smoothly as I hoped and fixing it is going to involve quite a bit of travelling. I would feel much happier if I knew you were living here, where the security is superlative.’
Sally listened, her anger and bitterness festering as he continued.
‘Think about it, Sally. All your financial needs taken care of. No more secondhand gowns, but the best money can buy.’
And then he had the nerve to slant a very male, satisfied smile her way—as if he was offering her the crown jewels when in fact he was suggesting she become his live-in lover in London. She could not help noticing he had not suggested taking her with him on his travels. He probably had other women living in his properties dotted all over the world.
Zac’s arrogance was unbelievable, and his last comment had filled her with such fury that she bowed her head, so he would not see the anger blazing in her eyes.
She fought down the bile that rose in her throat and battled to control her rage. Hard to believe a short time ago she had been in danger of believing she might love him. Well, no more delusions—and no more negotiating with the vile man…
‘Sally? What do you say?’
Slowly she lifted her head her and said, ‘No.’ Pushing back her chair, she stood up and very deliberately glanced at the thin gold watch on her wrist—a twenty-first birthday present from her mother.
‘No explanation? Just no?’
Only then did Sally allow herself to look at him. The watch was a timely reminder of why she could not lose her temper with the lecherous bastard. ‘Exactly. We made a deal, and I will stick by it. You said you were a man of your word, and I expect you to stand by that.’
Zac’s eyes narrowed. ‘Wait a minute—what just happened here?’ he demanded, and she would have laughed at the look of confusion on his face if she hadn’t been so angry and—yes, she admitted it—deeply hurt…
‘We have just spent hours indulging in the most incredible sex, and no is your immediate reaction to my generous suggestion?’ He finished his drink and rose to his feet to move in front of her, his hands on her shoulders, his black brows drawing together in a frown. ‘I don’t see your problem with the idea. You are joking, yes?’ he prompted, his accent thickening.