Page 13 of Sky High Obsession

Her heart lurched.“Some?What if I said I want to know everything?I want to know about Farrah?What if I said that’s the only way I’ll contemplate us moving forward?”

Tense silence.“I’d ask you to rethink that.”

“Why?”

“Because you told me you loved me.And that you’d give me time.Or did you lie?”

Scalding tears welled in her eyes.Angrily, she brushed them away.“You bastard,” she croaked, her whole body going numb.

His breath hissed out.“Fuck.Bethany?—”

“No.Enough, Zach.Enough.”She hung up.

5

Zach absently tuned in to the realtor yammer on about south-facing versus west-facing lighting, Poggenpohl kitchens and parquet floors and tried to stem the panic flaring through him.

He pressed the call button again and listened as the connection went straight to voicemail.

The message he wanted to leave couldn’t be said out loud in the presence of the realtor and Philip, who hovered a few steps behind him.

“As you can see, the floor to ceiling views are rather special,” the realtor continued.Blonde, in her late twenties, she’d been doing her best to catch his eye since they’d met downstairs ten minutes ago.Impatience crawled over him as he struggled to keep the frown from his face.

“The space is ideal for entertaining, and has the perfect blend of home and office.And the square footage is one of the largest on our books at the moment.The specially selected concierge…”

Zach bit back a sharp retort, blocked her out, and forced himself to look around properly.As his needs went, the duplex was more than adequate, with a large office complete with the meeting room he’d specifically demanded.Setting up here for the foreseeable future shouldn’t be a problem.And out of the four properties he planned to view today, this was the closest to Bethany’s place in the East Village.Which made it a no-brainer, really.

“I’ll take it,” he said abruptly.“On condition that I can move in immediately.”He fingered the call button again, desperately hoping that Bethany would pick up this time.

The realtor’s face lit up with pleasure.“Oh… that’s great, Mr.Savage.Yes, of course you can move in immediately.I’ll draw up the papers.Umm…” She started to move toward him, and Zach noted her hips had taken on a sexier sway.“We also offer a remodeling service if you need it, with highly sought after designers?—”

He turned away.“No, thanks.Philip will take care of the papers.”He nodded to Philip and walked out of the living room.

He dialed Bethany’s number again and cursed under his breath when he heard the distinctive click.

You’ve reached Bethany.Leave me a message.

He walked into the study, shut the door and crossed over to the large window overlooking Central Park.Heart thudding dully in his chest, he leaned forward until his forehead touched the cool glass.

“I fucked up.Again.I’m sorry, baby.I just… this distance… being without you… I can’t handle it.”He stopped and tried to breathe.But just like everything else since that moment in his garden in Marrakech, his breathing was off.Every damn thing was off.“I’m sorry…” He stopped again, his mind spinning with all the things he wanted to say but couldn’t.

Since admitting to what he’d done six years ago, he’d been floundering every day, like he was on a rollercoaster that was taking him farther and farther away from Bethany with each passing second.And he couldn’t get off.

He’d gone through moments of detesting her for making him feel these alien, confounding emotions.But the underlying truth had always remained the same.

He needed Bethany like he’d never needed anyone else in his life.Their last night in Marrakech had ripped away any illusions that what was going on between them was run-of-the-mill.Even before his near meltdown in the toy room, and the way he’d taken Bethany, he’d known his craving ran deeper than mind-blowing sex.That knowledge had sent him into a disturbed sleep, making him dream—on that night of all nights—of Farrah, and the events of six years ago.

The moment he’d woken from the dream, he’d known something was seriously wrong.In his short time with Bethany, he’d grown accustomed to her emotions in a way that stunned and confused the hell out of him.

Hell, he could blame that confusion for his stark confession.Or he could admit he’d been terrified that not giving her something would’ve made her walk away.

His lips twisted.Well, he’d gambled, and she’d walked away anyway.After she’d looked at him with confused terror in her eyes.After she’d paled to the point where he’d been petrified that she would actually shatter from the grenade he’d thrown at her feet.

When she’d asked to leave, he’d fought his every instinct to make her stay.And really, how could he have asked her to stay, knowing he’d brought her to the place that had been special to Farrah?

What sort of asshole would that have made him?What sort of asshole had he been to take her there in the first place?

Sighing, he stared down at his phone and contemplated calling one more time.In the distance, he heard the realtor leave and Philip shut the door behind her.

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