Zane

She watched until he was no longer in sight. Then she went to the kitchen and pulled the wine bottle out of the basket, along with wineglasses. She poured wine into the glass that bore her name, thinking how pretty the glasses were and how thoughtful and touching it had been for Zane to buy them.

Taking her glass into the living room, she eased down on the sofa, fully aware of what tonight had done to her. It had pulled Zane deeper into her heart. She couldn’t help but wonder if tonight had changed anything in his heart.

Probably not. She hadn’t been the pusher this time but instead had been mainly a satisfied recipient. He had been the dominating male who took charge, and she had let him.

He needed to chill and let her handle things her way. Already he’d planned tomorrow for her, and if she let him, he would dominate the rest of her time in Virginia.

Channing suddenly realized that the one thing she’d never done before in their relationship was to take control. Whenever they’d made love, he’d been the one to initiate it.

Suddenly she had a plan.

“Not so fast, Zane Westmoreland,” she muttered to herself. “Later today will be my time, and I intend to push you right off your feet.”

* * *

Zane tossed his car keys on the table the moment he entered his suite, feeling good about his date with Channing. The look on her face as she’d stood at the window and waved goodbye had been priceless. His stomach had clenched tightly at the thought of actually driving away from her instead of staying the night to finish what they’d started at the drive-in.

It had been hard to keep driving without making a U-turn back to her. But she had set the “no sex” rule, and he’d given his word that he would adhere to her wishes. But like he had shown her tonight, he had no qualms about stretching the limits of that rule to his advantage whenever he could.

He was about to toss his jacket across the chair when his cell phone rang. Pulling it out of his jacket pocket, he gritted back a curse. It was Megan. A part of him didn’t want to answer it, but with his luck, she would call Channing next and he definitely didn’t want that. He didn’t need Megan sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. How he and Channing decided to work things out was no business of his sister’s.

He clicked on the phone. “What do you want, Megan? It’s late.”

“I know what time it is, Zane. I had emergency surgery at the hospital and I’m on my way home. I also know where you are.”

“And?” He braced himself for his sister’s tirade. Since marrying Rico, his emotionally detached sister had been showing all kinds of emotion. She’d become expressive as hell, and for someone who’d once prided herself on having self-control, the new Megan took a lot of getting used to.

“I’m glad you’ve come to your senses.”

He raised a brow. “Meaning?”

“Meaning, I talked to Channing yesterday, and I believe it.”

He paused to lean in the doorway that separated the sitting area from the bedroom. “Believe what, Megan?”

“That you finally realize you love her.”

Zane let out a relieved breath. At least his sister believed him. Too bad the woman he loved wasn’t there yet. “What made you change your mind?”

“You would not have lied to Rico. You had no reason to do so. And then you dropped everything to fly out there to plead your case and surrender your heart.”

“Yeah, for all the good it’s doing,” he said, suddenly feeling frustrated. He was glad his sister didn’t consider his actions suspect, but he still had his work cut out for him. Channing wasn’t making things easy for him.

“Don’t give up, Zane. You hurt her, and she has to learn to trust you again. You have to give her a reason to believe in you. She has to know that she can win your heart fair and square.”

“She’s won my heart already, Megan. I love her. But she doesn’t believe me because I made the mistake of telling her so many times that I didn’t love her.”

“Um, like the boy who cried wolf. He cried it so long that when the real wolf came along, no one wanted to believe him.”

“I know, and I only have myself to blame.”

“Well, we’re all rooting for you.”

He chuckled. “We?”

“Yes, the entire Westmoreland clan. At least those of us who understand what true love is about. After loving Rico, I can’t imagine a person not being with the one person who has their heart. The one person they know will make them happy.”

Less than an hour later, when Zane eased into bed and slid between the sheets, he thought of his conversation with Megan. He was grateful that she believed him. Now he had to make Channing believe.

He smiled, thinking that in a few hours he intended to turn up the heat.

Eleven

“Ready?”

Channing blinked at the sensations twirling around in her stomach.

They could have been caused by the deep, husky timbre of Zane’s voice or by the way he leaned in her doorway, dressed in a pair of jeans and a chambray shirt, with his Stetson riding low on his head. His navigator sunglasses finished off the package, and she was convinced he was the most handsome man she’d ever seen.

Why did his smile seem so luscious and sexy this morning?

“Yes, I’m ready. Come on in,” she said, stepping aside. “I just need to grab my purse. I figure we can come back here later and eat dinner. I still have a lot of leftovers.”

He took off his sunglasses. She could tell he was surprised by her invitation. “All right. Sounds like a plan to me.”

She was about to walk off to get her purse when he touched her arm. “Not so fast.” He pulled her into his arms and let his gaze move up and down her body. “You look pretty.”

“Thanks.” She had taken great pains to look nice today. From the appreciative look in his eyes, she knew it was worth it. His desire caused goose bumps to form on her arms. “And you look nice yourself.”

They stood for a moment, staring at each other. Channing could feel the heat and the charged air between them. She couldn’t help but remember what had happened last night at the drive-in. Those same memories were what had kept her up most of the night as primal needs ripped through her.

She absently licked her lips and heard Zane’s breath catch. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Instead of answering, he held her gaze. She felt the fire in every part of her body.

“Nothing’s wrong, baby. In fact, everything is right.” He drew her close and lowered his mouth to hers.

If he thought she would resist, he was wrong. Channing even stretched up on tiptoe to meet his mouth. His hands went around her waist, and she grabbed his massive shoulders, pressing her body against perfect abs and muscular thighs.

But what made her breasts throb was the engorged bulge pressing hard at the juncture of her thighs.

If he needed to be pushed, then she would push with all the strength she could muster.

She hoped she wasn’t making a mistake.

Nothing, and she meant nothing, was better than the way Zane’s mouth mated with hers. He relished her with a hunger that made her moan deep in her throat and made her wet between her legs simultaneously. A sense of intimacy that she’d fought for the past day overtook her, had her needing sexual fulfillment as much as she needed her next breath.

When her body began to quiver, he slowly pulled his mouth away and stood holding her until the last shiver left her body. As if to satisfy her one last time, he licked his tongue across her lips before nibbling the corners of her mouth with his teeth. Tingles swept through her.

“If we don’t leave now, we’ll never get out of here,” he whispered against her lips. “My self-control is slipping, and I’m tempted to say to hell with your ‘no sex’ rule, lift up this sundress and ease inside of you.”

She could imagine it happening. Her body was ready, aching for the feel of his shaft thrusting in and out of her. She was intensely aroused and knew there was no way he hadn’t realized it. He was very acute when it came to that.

“Um,” she said, backing out of his arms. She needed to put some space between them. “Excuse me for a minute.”

“Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”

She moved toward her bedroom, but before opening the door and stepping inside, she paused and glanced over her shoulder. He stood there, looking so incredibly sexy that the sight was an assault on her senses in every way.

“If you prefer that we spend the day here doing nothing, our plans can be changed, Channing.”

She was tempted. Boy, was she tempted. But she wanted to go with him to Richmond and do something with him she’d never done before… She wanted to see a part of his life he’d kept from her. “No. I’m looking forward to going to Richmond with you.”