Hollywood Ex Factor, page 9
He checked his security system and saw Margot on the screen. He answered the door, wondering why she was here.
She looked soft and breezy, wearing a casual spring dress and strappy sandals. But she seemed anxious, too, playing with the ends of her hair.
“Come in,” he said, with concern.
She crossed the threshold into his condo, with its rugged furnishings and indigenous accents. Zeke’s place reflected who he was, right down to the gourd pottery, bamboo window coverings and distressed wood floors.
“I’m sorry for barging in like this,” she said. “But there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
He gestured for her to take a seat, and she headed for a chair and scooted to the edge of it.
Zeke stood near the bar. He should have offered her a glass of wine or a soda or whatever, but he was too impatient to hear what she had to say first. “What’s going on?”
“I’m going out with Jordan on Saturday.”
Damn it, he thought. He hadn’t trusted that guy all along. “What the hell for?”
“I invited him to dinner. I decided it was time for me to start dating again, and I thought I’d start by going out with a friend and see where it leads.”
He glared at her. “Where it leads?”
“Romantically. And please, stop looking at me as if I just said I was going to cheat on you. We aren’t a couple anymore, and I didn’t come here to fight with you.”
“Don’t lecture me on what we are or aren’t. And don’t play the pacifist, either. You’re as good at fighting as I am.”
“But that isn’t my intention.”
“Then what is?” His gut clenched, twisting and turning into a colossal knot. “To flaunt another man in my face?”
“No. Absolutely not.” She remained seated, clasping her hands on her lap. “With how deeply our friendship has been developing, I just thought I owed you the courtesy of telling you what’s going on.”
He didn’t want to be her friend anymore, not if it meant getting hurt by her. “Why are you so interested in dating all of a sudden?”
She lifted her gaze to his. “Because I’m trying to shed my struggle over you. The lust you always make me feel.”
“And that’s supposed to make everything all right?” He didn’t follow her reasoning. “You’re battling feelings for me, so you go chasing after someone else? What does Jordan think about that?”
“I didn’t tell him. The problem I’m having over you is personal. It isn’t the sort of thing I can share with someone.”
He scoffed. “I’ll bet you told my sister.”
“That’s different.” She zeroed in on the bar. “Do you think I could have a drink? My mouth is a little dry.”
“Help yourself.” He wanted her to get up, to come closer. He still stood near the bar. “Take whatever you want.”
She glanced a bit shakily at him, as if his last statement was a double entendre. But she made her way to the bar and rattled around, searching for whatever he had available. She settled on pineapple juice.
When she tried to return to her seat, he blocked her path, trapping her behind the bar.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Being territorial, he thought. But he couldn’t seem to help it. Even if Margot didn’t belong to him, he still couldn’t bear for her to be with someone else. “I’m not going to let you go out with that guy.”
“You don’t have the authority to stop me. Now step back and let me pass. I already told you that I didn’t come here to battle with you.”
Too bad, because he was trying to egg her on, to make her feel what he was feeling. The rage. The hunger. The lust she was trying to avoid. He didn’t want to be the only one suffering. “What if I want to fight? What if I want to show you who’s the boss?”
She came toward him. “I mean it, Zeke. Get out of my way so I can drink this and go home.”
He refused to budge, glad that he was finally making her mad. “You can finish it where you are.”
“Fine.” She guzzled the juice and slammed the empty glass down. “Now you can move.”
Fat chance of that. “Sorry, but I’m just dandy where I am.” He flashed a cocky smile, pissing her off even more. She looked like she wanted to take a swing at him. But it would take a bulldozer for her to knock him down, and she knew it.
She hissed like a cat. “Screw you, you big jerk.”
“Is that the best you got?” He mocked her, baiting her to call him every name in the book.
She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t need this crap from you.”
And he didn’t need her coming to his house, telling him that she was interested in another man. As far as he was concerned, that made them even. By now, he should have let her pass. But instead, he shrugged and said, “It’s not going to work, anyway.”
“What isn’t?”
He looked her straight in the eye. “You using Jordan to get over me.”
“I’m not using anybody.” She defended herself, a bit too vehemently. “That isn’t what I’m doing.”
“I’m just calling it like I see it. Nothing is going to cure you of me, except me.”
She tossed her wild red hair over her shoulder. “If that’s your way of trying to get me to sleep with you, you can go straight to hell.”
“Fine. You win.” He retreated, allowing her the freedom to get away from him. Only she didn’t dash out the door. She remained where she was, as if a supernatural force was keeping her there. They stared uncomfortably at each other, a tense silence engulfing them. “Go,” he said, reminding her that she could leave.
Her breath shuddered. “Do you really want me to?”
“No.” He ached for her to stay, for her to touch him, for him to touch her. “But it’s your choice. I’m not your jailer.”
“Yes, you are.” Her voice hitched. “You’ve always controlled some part of me.”
“Not purposely.” He waited for her to make the first move, to come closer and let the moment explode. They were on the verge of another affair. He could feel it in the air, like storm clouds gathering in the sky.
She inched toward him. “Am I going to regret this when it’s over? Am I going to hate myself for it? Or is this going to feel so good that I won’t care?”
“I can’t answer those questions for you.” But he sure as hell hoped it was the latter. All he wanted was for her to pounce, for the rain to break free. He could barely breathe just thinking about it. He even counted the seconds in his mind, watching her, waiting.
One one-thousand, two one-thousand...
She rushed forward, slamming her body against his. He sought her mouth, and they kissed as if they might die if they didn’t. She tasted like everything he’d been missing: his old lover, the woman he craved. He wrapped his arms around her, and she dug her nails into his T-shirt, trying to connect with his skin. They kissed some more, hot and desperately carnal.
When they came up for air, he said, “Take off your dress.”
She did his bidding, letting the garment slide to the floor. “Now what should I do?”
“Nothing. I’ll do the rest.”
He lifted her up, setting her on top of the bar. She looked sexy as hell in her pink bra and blue panties, her sandals dangling from her feet. He carefully slipped off each shoe, pretending that he was going to take his time. But before she knew what hit her, he grabbed her panties and yanked them down. She gasped, and he suspected that her heart was beating like a runaway bride. She met his gaze, and he flung her underwear away, not caring where they landed. Her bra came off next.
He tugged her to the edge of the bar top and got down on his knees. He was tall enough to make this work, and he intended to have a nice, naughty feast.
He parted her with his fingers, and she moaned in excitement. She wanted this as badly as he did.
He knew her sexual preferences because they matched his own. She was the most compatible lover he’d ever had. The most responsive. Everything about her was positively sinful.
He buried his face between her legs, and she rocked against his mouth and made breathy sounds. He glanced up and saw that she was thumbing her own nipples, making them as hard as bullets. Was it any wonder that he couldn’t get her out of his system? He could do this for the rest of his life and still want more. She was slick and wet, and he relished the taste of her.
She watched him through vivid eyes. So blue, he thought. So powerful. The lanterns above the bar were giving her an unearthly sheen. She reached out to touch him, putting her hand against his face. He pleasured her with every fiber of his sex-starved soul, and she arched her body, bending like a bow that was about to snap.
Or a woman who was about to come.
He grazed her thighs with his beard stubble and she shivered all the way to her toes. The sounds she made were wild now. She opened her legs as wide as she could, shuddering through her orgasm.
He stayed on his knees, absorbing her climax in the most intimate of ways. When it ended, he got to his feet, and she kissed him luxuriously on the mouth, melting all over him.
* * *
It was too late, Margot realized. She couldn’t go back and undo it. She’d already let Zeke take her to delectable heights. They both were standing now, facing each other, her mind spinning, her heart pounding.
“Why can’t I stay away from you?” she asked, still reeling from what he’d done to her.
“For the same reason I’m hooked on you. We’re good together this way.”
She knew exactly what he meant. Sex was their common ground, the thing that never seemed to fail them. She couldn’t even begin to think about regret. She didn’t want to hate herself for being with him, either.
She skimmed his cheek with her fingertips, fascinated by the rugged angles of his face. “It’s your turn to get naked.”
He agreed, and she helped divest him of his shirt, exposing his chest and abs, those to-die-for muscles. He peeled off his shorts. He was already half-hard. She rubbed him, making him fully erect.
He tipped his head back, and when she dropped to her knees, he nearly shuddered on the spot.
“Fair is fair,” she said. She wanted to give him the same kind of raw pleasure that he’d bestowed upon her.
“You’ll have to stop when I tell you to.”
She looked up at him, this big, tough guy who stood before her. “I haven’t even started yet, and you’re already giving me orders.” But she wasn’t going to listen. Margot was determined to be her own woman, even if she was getting dangerously involved with him again.
She flicked her tongue against him, and he shifted his stance, watching her, getting ready for more. She took him in her mouth, and his stomach muscles jumped and flexed.
He tasted beautifully familiar, and she savored every solid inch. She took him deeper and deeper, as far as her throat would allow. He slid his hands into her hair, tangling it around his fingers, pulling and tugging.
“Damn you.” He groaned, his excitement mounting.
Damn him, too, she thought. No doubt about it, he was her drug of choice, the needle in her arm, the habit she couldn’t break.
They created a rhythm, with him moving inside her mouth. He kept watching her, and she increased the pace, her head bobbing back and forth. She could only imagine how deliciously dirty she looked to him, still naked and sticky from her own orgasm.
He was close. She knew the signs. She’d done this to him many times before.
“You better stop,” he panted.
She kept at it, digging her nails into his butt, getting more aggressive with him. He cursed, his voice sounding parched. Sandpapery, she thought. He tried to make her stop again, but she refused. She enjoyed torturing him this way.
He gave up the fight and jerked forward, spilling into her. She let the feeling overtake her. Being the source of his pleasure nearly made her come again, too. She waited a few minutes, letting the moment swirl around both of them.
He helped her up off her knees, and she smiled.
“You look like the cat that ate the big bad canary,” he said, his voice still crackly.
“Or the kitten that lapped up all the cream.” She smiled again, teasing him, feeling full of herself. “I should get dressed and go now.”
“What? No. We’re not done yet. I still want you in my bed.”
“You’ll need time to be ready again.”
“It won’t take long.” He reached for her. “We can cuddle or something in the meantime.”
She was tempted, so damned tempted. Except that cuddling with him was about the worst thing she could do. They hadn’t spooned since they were married.
Pulling back, she made an excuse. “My mom is watching Liam, and she’s probably already expecting me back by now.” She searched for her underwear. She found her bra on the floor, but she had no idea where her panties were. A second later, she located them on a nearby chair.
He climbed into his shorts, snapping the elastic against his waist. “You better cancel that date with Jordan or I’m seriously going to climb the walls.”
“Do you actually think I would go out with him now?” She’d blown her entire plan of seeing someone else, of severing her sexual tie with Zeke. “I’m back to having an affair with you.”
He bunched his T-shirt into a ball. “Then let’s have dinner together on Saturday like you were going to do with him.”
She hooked her bra and shimmied into her dress. “That isn’t necessary.”
“Then will you at least come over on Saturday?”
“Yes, I can do that.” But she still needed to be careful, keeping herself from cuddling, from caring more than she should, from getting too attached to him.
Ever again.
Eight
On Saturday morning, while Liam was out shopping with her mom, Margot worked in her vegetable garden. This year, she’d planted tomatoes, bell peppers and a variety of herbs. She wasn’t a master grower. It was more of a hobby.
About an hour later, she dusted herself off and relaxed on the patio, sipping iced tea garnished with mint. She’d learned the hard way that mint could spread and take over a garden, so she contained it in pots now.
As she poked around on her cell, scanning the latest news articles, her phone rang. Bailey’s name appeared on the screen. Margot hesitated, apprehensive about answering the call. She hadn’t told Bailey about her latest rendezvous with Zeke. As far as Bailey knew, Margot was having dinner with Jordan tonight.
Problem was, if she let the call go to voice mail, Bailey would text. And if Margot ignored the texts, her BFF would worry. They never went more than a few days without checking in with each other.
Dang it.
She answered her phone with the customary “Hello?” as if she hadn’t actually been stressing about it.
“Hey, you,” Bailey said. “I just wanted to touch base and wish you luck on your date.”
Should she lie and pretend the date was still on? No, she couldn’t do that. She needed to be honest. “Thanks, but I canceled it. When I went to see Zeke to tell him about Jordan, it didn’t exactly go as planned, and I—”
“Oh, my gawd.” Bailey cut her off. “You slept with him.”
Margot winced. “More or less.” She forged ahead and added, “I’m seeing him again tonight.”
“Are you serious?” Bailey sounded as if she wanted to shake her silly. “You’re going back for more?”
“I know it sounds crazy, but I’m afraid that if I end it too soon, I’ll never stop obsessing about him.” She plucked the mint from her glass, sucking directly on the leaves. Just thinking about him stirred her blood.
“You shouldn’t have told him about Jordan in person.” Bailey’s voice came over the speaker, loud and clear. “If you’d done it over the phone, none of this would’ve happened.”
“I know, but I’m not going to beat myself up over it. Being with Zeke is exciting. But it’s not going to last forever. Eventually it’ll be over for good.”
“So, your hunger for him is just going to fizzle out? Poof, like magic, and it’ll be gone? What if you start falling in love with him again?”
“That isn’t going to happen. Believe me, I’m staying out of the danger zone.” She’d already warned herself about getting attached, and she intended to tread carefully and heed her own advice. “I realize that things have changed a bit, and Zeke and I are friends now. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to let myself be vulnerable to him. Our affair is just going to be about sex.” Mind-numbing, body-blasting sex, she thought. “Just like it was before.”
No, that wasn’t completely true, she thought. Their affair wasn’t just like before. Their friendship was creating a new bond. And to top it off, Zeke was becoming friends with Liam, too. He was good with her son. Nonetheless, she wasn’t going to fall for Zeke again. She couldn’t afford that type of pain. Nor would she put Liam through it. He didn’t need to see her falling for her ex. Margot was determined to protect herself and her son.
* * *
Margot arrived at Zeke’s place, but before she approached his door, she took a moment to gaze out at the ocean. She appreciated its moonlit mystery, the water rolling and foaming onto the shore, the aroma of salt and sea. She even imagined mermaids splashing in the waves.
“Do you want to go for a swim?” a disembodied male voice asked.
Startled by the intrusion, she spun around and spotted her lover sitting in a darkened corner of his courtyard.
She quickly said, “You scared me.”
“Sorry.” He stood and came toward her. “I was out here waiting for you, and when I saw you staring at the beach, I kept quiet and watched you. It made me feel like a voyeur.”
