“Well that’s because you were training to be a dom.” He laughed. “Or should I say a sub.”

“I think you should say nothing.” I laughed.

“I’m afraid I don’t have any secret pleasure or pain rooms.”

“Wait, how did you know about the red room of pain?” I asked suspiciously. “Did you read it as well?”

“Hell no.” He laughed and shook his head. “Well, not really. I saw part of the movie script.”

“Oh.” I coughed. “Sure, that was it.”

“Are you calling me a liar?” He growled and walked towards me.

“No.”

“Yes, you are.” He grabbed me and tickled me under my arms until I was squealing and almost falling to the ground. “Come here you.” Zane pulled me towards him and put his arms around me. He leaned down and kissed my forehead, and then my nose and my lips. I melted against him and we stumbled back onto his bed as we kissed. We fell onto the bed and Zane pulled away from me slightly. “Are you ready to go to bed?” He studied my face and I knew he was asking me a completely different question.

“You haven’t shown me my room as yet.” I looked away from him quickly, unsure of how to answer his unspoken question.

“Come on then.” He jumped off of the bed quickly and I followed him quietly. I had forgotten how easy he was to move on from everything. I was annoyed at him and myself for not pushing the issue. “I figured you could have the room next door.” He spoke in a perfunctory voice, all teasing gone from his tone.

“It looks very nice. Thank you.” I looked inside the room and was once again overwhelmed by just how much the room fit my taste. The walls were a light yellow and the carpet was plush beneath my feet. I was happy to see that the bedspread was a luxurious looking cream color and the pillowcases were peach. There was a bay window in this room as well, and there was a vanity table and stool on the other side of the room. This design had definitely been planned with a female in mind. I wanted to ask him why this room was so feminine; what had been his plan when he had created this room?

“I’ll go downstairs and get your bags, and you can get ready for bed,” he said, quite coldly.

“Oh ok, thanks.” I sat on the bed as he walked out of the room and sighed. “Are we going to be working tomorrow?” I asked him when he returned with my suitcase.

“No.” He shook his head. “I thought that I would show you around Los Angeles this week and that we could talk about the project. We will start officially working next Monday.”

“Okay, that sounds good.” I smiled, trying to break down his wall.

“I thought we could have a party in the next two weeks? Just a small one with some of my friends. That way I can introduce you to some people.”

“That would be great.” Will Noah be there? I wanted to ask him, but resisted.

“I think I’m going to go shower. Feel free to help yourself to anything you want in the kitchen. You have a private bathroom through that door.”

“Are you going to bed?” I bit my lip, not wanting the day to be done already.

“No, I was thinking of watching a movie after my shower.” He frowned. “And after I make a few calls.”

“Can I watch the movie with you?” I asked hesitantly.

“Sure.” He paused. “If you don’t mind watching it in my room.”

“That’s no problem.” I smiled up at him happily.

“Okay. Good.” He smiled back at me and rubbed his forehead. “I’m glad you’re here, Lucky.”

“Thanks. I’m glad as well.” I watched him walk out the door and lay back on the bed as he closed the door. I closed my eyes and took a big deep breath. The room smelled of tangerines and honey. I took another deep breath and stretched on the bed. I opened my eyes and looked around at the room again. It was beautiful and I was happy to be here. I jumped up and opened my suitcase, trying to decide what to change into after the shower. I wanted to make sure I looked cute and sexy, but not wanton. I didn’t want him to know that I was going out of my way to look attractive to him. I was disappointed that he hadn’t tried harder to keep me in his room. I wanted him to seduce me. I wanted him to want me so badly that he couldn’t keep his hands off of me. Sometimes I felt as if that was how he felt, but other times, I felt as if he couldn’t be bothered at all. I decided to wear a pair of gym shorts and a tank top—relaxing, casual, and slightly sexy, if Leeza was to be believed. I was just about to go into the bathroom when my phone rang.

“Hello.”

“Hey Lucky, it’s Braydon. I just wanted to make sure you made it to the best coast alright?”

“Haha, I did make it to the west coast just fine, thanks.”

“I’m glad that Zane wasn’t a completely ass to you then.”

“Oh. No, he was fine.” I paused. “Sorry about last night.”

“What’s to be sorry about? You had a few drinks. You were fine. Zane, on the other hand, was a psycho stalker.”

“He was just worried about me.”

“Why? He barely knows you,” Braydon scoffed.

“Well, he knew my car broke down and I guess—”

“Your car broke down?”

“Oh yeah, I didn’t tell you? I thought I told you on our date?”

“I think you said something about your car. But you’re only now telling me he just happened to be there when your car broke down.”

“Well, it was after the party and I guess he left around the same time,” I said defensively.

“Lucky, I want you to be careful.” Braydon’s voice was low. “I know you don’t really know me. But please be careful with Zane. He’s not right in the head and I think he has something against me.”

“What?” I was starting to get annoyed at Braydon.

“I know this may be hard to believe, but I think he has it out for me. Maybe he’s jealous or something. But he is really not right in the head.”

“Braydon, why would you say that?”

“Look, I don’t know him that well. We don’t really hang in the same circles. But his brother Noah and I were pretty tight. I think—”

“Hey, where is Noah now?” I interrupted him, hoping to get some information on the infamous Noah Beaumont.

“Zane hasn’t told you?” Braydon’s voice was slow and deliberate.

“No, and I haven’t wanted to intrude. Did they fall out or something?”

Braydon sighed and took a deep breath. “Look, I don’t want to say much, but Noah and Zane fell out. And Noah kind of left Zane behind. He wanted to make something of himself. He wanted to be a new person. Zane is so insular. He was all about it being him and Noah against the world, but Noah wanted more than that.”

“Oh wow, so they fell out.”

“Yeah.” Braydon cleared his throat. “Look Lucky, I want you to stay safe okay. I’m going to try and fly down to LA this week.”

“Wait, where is Noah now?”

“I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.” And with that, Braydon hung up and I was no closer to knowing where Noah was. I sat looking at my phone and wondered what could have come between Zane and his brother. It seemed like they were as tight as two brothers could have been. Maybe Zane didn’t like Braydon because Noah stole his friendship. Someone who was as emotionally insecure as Zane probably found it pretty hard to trust anyone. All of a sudden, I realized that I wanted to fix Zane. I wanted to be the one to let him see that not all relationships ended badly. Not all love was selfish and hurtful. Even if it cost me my heart. Zane was like no other man I had met before. On the surface, he seemed cocky, bossy, and uncaring, but I was starting to get to know the real him and he was a really good guy. The sort of guy that could win my heart forever. He was the type of guy a girl took a chance on, and that was exactly what I was going to do.

Chapter 10

“Hey, can I come in?” I knocked on the door and opened it slightly so that I could be sure that Zane knew I was there.

“Hey, come in.” Zane was lying on top of his bed in a pair of black gym shorts and another grey t-shirt. His hair was still damp from his shower and he looked cleanly shaved.

“Thanks. Are you still on for a movie?”

“Am I ever?” He ushered me into the room and slapped the empty space next to him on the bed. “Have a seat.”

“Thanks.” I climbed onto the bed next to him, feeling slightly self-conscious.

“Do you like your room?” Zane leaned against the headboard and stared at me.

“It’s really nice. Really feminine.” I answered, hoping he would provide some insight to the room.

“I’m glad you like it.” He nodded and smiled. I held my breath as he looked me up and down slowly. My toes curled when he raised a single eyebrow and grinned mischievously at me. “Nice pajamas.”

“I don’t have PJs.” I blushed. “So I generally sleep in shorts and a t-shirt.”

“I approve.” He grinned. “Though I don’t mind if you take the t-shirt off.”

“You what?”

“I said, I don’t mind if you want to get na**d.” He laughed and ran his hand down my back.

“Is that how you talk to all the girls, Zane Beaumont?” I shook his hand off of me. “It seems to me that you’re a lot more uncouth than I thought.”

“Why, did you think I was a smooth operator?”

I stared at him for a second. “Well, I certainly didn’t think you were a ‘girl, let’s get these clothes off of you’ kind of guy. I assumed you had a little more finesse.”

“I’m just a regular old Don Juan in your eyes, aren’t I?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” I laughed. “You can’t seem to keep them past a week.”

“Why you—” He burst out laughing and pulled me up towards him. “You’re my regular little comedian aren’t you, Lucky?”

I felt a warm shot of happiness inflame my body at his use of the word “my.” It held a connation of closeness that I wanted to have with him. “Is that your way of letting me know that you want me to tell you a joke?” I peeked up at his face and rolled my eyes. “You could just ask you know.”

“You know what I want to know?” He grinned at me and I leaned back into him, my back fitting into his arms comfortably.

“Why the sky is blue?”

“It’s not blue right now. But perhaps you can tell me why it is black.”

“Because there is no sun right now.”

“Where is the sun?”

“Is this what you wanted to know? This is your last question. I will answer no more.”

“Oh genie, how you tease me.” He laughed and I grinned at him, trying to ignore the warmth emanating from his chest.

“One question.”

“Or can I change that to one wish?”

“Hmm, I don’t know …”

“What did you think of me when you met me in Lou’s?” Zane’s face was suddenly serious as he interrupted me. “I want to know how you knew you could trust me.”

“How do you know I trust you?”

“You accepted this job. You’re here with me now. You—”

“Okay, okay. I trust you.” I laughed and paused, twisting to look at him. “I don’t know why I trust you.”

“Well thanks.” He pouted.

“No, I don’t mean it like that. I mean, I was your waitress, we were never really friends. And honestly, I never really had a great impression of you. We used to talk about you in the restaurant. Every Friday, we would roll our eyes when you walked in with a different girl. But inside, secretly, I was happy. I was happy to see you again, because you were always nice, always friendly, and always leaving big tips.”

“And you thought I was hot, huh?” He wiggled his eyebrows and I punched him in the stomach. “Ow.” He rubbed his stomach and groaned.

“Yes. I thought you were cute.” I laughed. “Why, what did you think of me?”

“I thought you were the cutest thing.” He laughed. “Every week, I told myself to take my date to a different restaurant, but every week I ended up at Lou’s.”

“Why?”

“Because I wanted to see your sweet smile, your non-judging eyes.” He laughed and I frowned.

“What’s so funny?”

“Maybe I wanted to see your sexy little walk as well.”

“What sexy walk?”

“The one where you swing your hips.”

“I do not swing my hips.” I protested.

“Yes, you do. And then you stop at the table and ask what I want to drink and your eyes tease me with other possibilities.”

“What other possibilities?”

“These.” He turned towards me and I felt his lips come crushing down on mine. I kissed him back and squirmed against him as I felt his hands on my butt, squeezing my ass cheeks. I found my hands working themselves up his t-shirt and my fingers traced the lines of his six-pack. Wow, what perfection. Zane pulled back from me slightly and pulled his t-shirt off, and flung it across the room. His eyes bore into mine in silent challenge and I pulled my t-shirt off as well and flung it across the room, allowing it to join his on the floor.

Zane’s eyes left my face and fell to my scantily-covered breasts. My half-cup pink lace bra was very sheer and I knew that if he looked closely, he could see my nipples. I saw a nerve by his neck throbbing and I was pretty sure he noticed. I ran my fingers back over his chest and across his ni**les and then moved my hands up to his handsome face. I inched closer to him and brought his lips down to mine, kissing him with gusto, and pushing my tongue into his mouth. All reason left my head, as I tasted the minty sweetness of his toothpaste against my tongue. I took his tongue into my mouth and sucked on it slowly, and he groaned before grabbing me and pulling me closer to him. I felt his hands on my back, undoing my bra, and as he unclasped it, I wondered for a moment what I was doing here. A very small part of me was screaming out that I was throwing out everything I had stood for in the last year. That I was wasting time with Zane because I already knew that he wasn’t looking for anything serious. But the other side of me—the side that wanted to be right—told me to just go ahead with everything. This was the side that had been fantasizing about being with Zane for the last three months. This was the side that believed that he was a complex, strong, and passionate man, and that somewhere inside, there was a little boy just looking to be loved. The voice was telling me that, just maybe, I could make Zane see that there was nothing wrong with love. That to have loved and lost, was much better than to never have loved at all. It was a long shot, but I knew it was a chance I was willing to take. Zane Beaumont was in my blood. I knew that I couldn’t go on without giving this relationship, or whatever it was, a chance—even if that meant throwing out the rules. Zane was a man for whom the rules were made to be broken.