Page 25 of The CEO

“Yeah, date. You know, that thing two people do when they want to get to know each other better, when they like each other, even if one of them doesn’t want to admit it.”

If her mind spun with memories of Jax, it positively reeled now with Zac’s little announcement.

They reached the railing and he finally released her hand and leaned forward, his gaze fixed on the undulating ocean. “I’ve gone about this all wrong. I didn’t want to scare you off by calling this a date tonight, but I’d planned on bringing you up here, talking a little, getting to know each other, before catching a movie or maybe going dancing, or whatever you wanted to do.”

She couldn’t speak, the pain of Jax’s memory annihilated by the unbelievable joy unfurling in her heart.

He turned to face her, reaching up to stroke her cheek with his thumb, as she held her breath, stunned by his intimate touch and her craving for more.

“I wanted tonight to be romantic, to show you I’m not just toying with you.” He stepped closer, took hold of her arms, and she stifled a gasp, captivated by the moonlight glinting off his dark curls and the striking shadows it created as it played across his face. “What do you think? Care to date a sailor with more than flirting on his mind?”

He slid his hands up and down her arms, the rhythmic contact depriving her of all rational thought as he gazed at her with hunger and greed and passion.

“I don’t know what to say—”

“Then don’t say anything at all.”

He tugged her close a second before crushing her lips beneath his. Strong, commanding, scorching, a sensual assault that left her reeling.

If their first kiss on the beach in Noumea had rocked her world, this kiss blew it into the stratosphere.

As she tilted along with the deck beneath her shaky feet, she realized she’d never been kissed like this, ever.

She clung to him as his tongue coaxed its way into her mouth, teasing her to match him. She moaned, a guttural sound deep in her throat, the noise inflaming him as he leaned into her, pressing her back against the rail as his arousal pressed against her, creating an answering response in her core, setting her wildest desires alight.

She should stop this madness, re-erect the barriers that had come crashing down the first instant his lips had touched hers.

But it felt so good to be desired, so good to have the attention of a man like him, so good to eradicate any lingering memories of what had happened on this night eighteen months ago.

His hands tangled in her hair, angling her head, as he slid his lips across hers as he tried to pull her closer.

Stunned by the ferocity of his need, she rotated her hips against his pelvis as his hand strayed to her breast, cupping and kneading, sending her resistance spiralling dangerously out of control. His thumb circled her nipple through the thick cotton of her dress, the torturous rubbing firing electric shocks through her body.

The sound of a slamming door broke the erotic spell and they tore apart, her breathing ragged as he ran a hand through his mussed curls, his expression dazed.

She’d lost control in his arms and she never, ever lost control.

At work, she was the epitome of control. Christmas parties, she’d be the sober one tidying up after everyone left. Farewelling staff, she’d collect money and choose the perfect gift. Organizing vacation rosters, she was a all over it.

All over Zac more like it, as her famed control washed away on the tide.

He laid a tentative hand on her shoulder. “Lana?”

“Hmm?”

She didn’t know what to say, didn’t know where to look, and focusing on Beth’s indigo pumps with the gold wedged heel seemed a good start.

He tipped her chin up, leaving her no option but to meet his gaze. “I have absolutely no control around you.”

She laughed, a brittle sound whipped away by the wind. “I was just thinking about control.”

His hand hesitated, his thumb brushing her jaw before he dropped it. “My lack of?”

“Mine actually.”

She hadn’t wanted him to kiss her, hadn’t wanted him to remind her of how good it had been the first time in Noumea, but since he had, she was glad. Glad he’d made her feel desirable and womanly and special for an all too brief moment.

“You don’t have to say anything,” she murmured, embarrassment flushing her cheeks. “You were trying to cheer me up, I get it.”

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