Ann Major - A Scandal So Sweet

Suddenly, he wanted nothing more than to start over with Summer.

Realizing that thanks to Tuck’s misbehavior, they had already started over, Zach took Summer’s hand, turned it over in his own, drew it to his lips. For a second he caught a haunted expression in her eyes, but when she flashed him a dazzling smile, he forgot where he was. He would have planted a quick kiss on her cheek if he hadn’t caught a very pleased Gram watching his every move. Not in the habit of public displays of affection, he let go of Summer’s hand in the next instant.

When dinner was over, they retired to the card table where Gram’s three guests conspired to let her win more than her fair share of the games.

“It was a perfect evening,” Gram said after they’d helped her clear the table. As they stepped out onto the porch, the black, misty darkness was filled with the cloying scent of honeysuckle and the glorious roar of cicadas. They were saying their goodbyes, and Summer’s beautiful face was aglow beneath the porch light.

He loved her, Zach realized.

Love. He hated the word. He’d sworn never to fall under its dark power again, but here he was, lost in its grip. After everything she’d put him through, it was stupid of him, terrifying for him, but he wanted to claim her-to marry her.

When her beaming grandmother read the emotion in his eyes, she closed the door and wisely left them alone. Like a fool, the minute they were alone, he wanted to get down on bended knee in the damp St. Augustine grass and propose.

Luckily, he caught himself, opting to proceed with caution. If this new relationship with Summer was to work, he’d need to reorganize his business, his entire life. He’d need an office in Manhattan for starters. That was okay. He’d worked all over the world; he could work anywhere.

He would have his people contact several knowledgeable Realtors in Manhattan. He’d tell them he wanted to shift the focus of Torr Enterprises, that they were to start searching for opportunities in the northeast. He’d buy Summer a penthouse with a view of Central Park.

Not that he would want to live there all year. But surely she’d meet him halfway by living in Houston or even Louisiana for at least part of the year.

As they sped home across the black, glassy waters of the bayou, Zach seemed quieter, more withdrawn, and yet content.

Their speed wasn’t as fast as it had been earlier, since it was dark now and there were patches of ground fog, but there was no way she could speak to him over the roar of the airboat.

Arriving home without incident, she watched as Zach secured the boat quickly and efficiently with the easy expertise of a man who knew exactly what he was doing. Nick had taught him all of that, she thought.

Then Zach pulled her close, and they walked across the lawn holding hands in the moonlight with no paparazzi to spoil the exquisite, shared moment.

He paused beneath the long shadows of the live oak trees to kiss her. She thought his kisses were different somehow, sweeter, and they filled her heart with joy.

Everything felt so right, so perfect-the way it had felt when they’d first fallen in love. It was as if they’d reclaimed their lost innocence and faith in one another. For the first time in years, it was easy to imagine them belonging to each other forever. A knot formed in her throat as she thought about the little girl she’d lost. She had to tell him. But when?

For Summer the evening had been magic. It had been nice to bring Zach to Gram’s, so nice to share this man she cared about with her family, especially since her controlling stepfather used to force her to sneak out to see him.

Summer had learned not to stand up to Thurman. It had seemed smarter to maneuver around him. Still, she’d felt like a spineless wimp not taking up for Zach. But if she had, Thurman would have gone ballistic. He would have stopped at nothing to destroy her relationship with Zach.

The only reason Zach had stayed in Bonne Terre that year after his graduation was to wait for her.

Her memories merged with her present need to find a way to tell him about the baby. But when he pulled her close and slanted his hard mouth over hers beneath the shadows of the oak, she sighed and wrapped her hands around his neck to better enjoy the kiss.

Time stopped. There was nothing but the two of them. Their bodies locked as they surrendered to each other in the magical pine-scented darkness. There was no Thurman to stop them now.

She could have kissed him forever, but she began to feel him, hard and swollen, pressing against her thighs. She opened her eyes and met the burning urgency of his gaze.

When he spoke, his voice was rough. “Let’s get the hell inside.”

Quickly, he took her hand and they ran to the back entrance. When they were in the house, and he’d locked the door, he kissed her again even more fiercely than before. Then he lifted her into his arms and carried her up the stairs into the enveloping darkness of his bedroom.

“Now, where were we, sweetheart?” Zach demanded as he set her on his bed. His eyes were intense as he began to undo the tiny white buttons on her dress.

“I can’t believe you want to make love to me after a big old dinner like that.”

“Well, I do. We played cards for an hour, didn’t we? Besides, do you have a better idea?”

“We could sit outside on the upstairs veranda, enjoy the moonlight and talk…maybe about the past.” About our baby…

“The past…” He frowned. “I’m in much too good a mood to want to go there. Trust me. We’re better off making love, enjoying what we have now. We deserve some happiness.”

“But aren’t we hiding from things we need to think about and resolve?”

“You expect me to care about what’s over and done with, when you’re so damn beautiful I hurt?”

But she felt so close to him right now, close enough to tell him everything… Even tell him about the baby. It would take more than a single conversation, she knew. But she felt a profound need to share everything with him. He had to know the worst.

She wanted him to listen, to hold her, to forgive her, to grieve with her and then to make love to her. Had she been wrong about their special bond tonight?

He grazed her lips with his mouth with such infinite tenderness he soon sparked a wild conflagration.

But he was a man, and he was aroused. So, now wasn’t the time to talk after all.

They could not get their clothes off fast enough. Then they took their time exploring each other. He took his turn kissing and touching her, and then she broke away and started kissing him everywhere, her tongue running down his body until she found his manhood, which was thick and engorged.

She took him into her mouth. He was too close to the edge to endure this for long. Soon he moved on top of her and slid inside.

That was all it took for her to explode.

He thrust deeply and then shuddered, too.

Afterward, as they lay in the darkness, while he held her close, she gathered her courage again. “Wouldn’t you feel better if you knew exactly what happened to me and why I might have failed you years ago?”

“What?”

Perspiration glistened on his brow as he rolled over to brush his hand through her tangled hair. “I can’t believe you’re bringing that up again. Now.”

“I just think we should talk. It’s a perfect time, after our lovely evening.”

“No. Let’s not tarnish tonight.”

He sat up so he could stare down at her. “Look, I’m not blaming you for the past any longer, if that’s why you want to talk about it. On Viola’s porch that first day we reconnected, I felt this terrible lingering sadness in you. It made it impossible for me to continue blaming you for everything. That’s all the explanation I need about the past. I hurt you, too. I know that.”