“Tell me this, Taylor. Where do you intend to go once we arrive at Key West?”
His voice grated darkly. A sense of foreboding settled over her, a warning that perhaps he knew more about her than she gave him credit for.
“I have … ahem,” she croaked and had to clear her throat before she could continue. The way he watched her with unwavering intensity made her feel vulnerable … exposed for the fraud she was. “I have business to attend to.” Her lips pursed irritably as his mouth flattened angrily. “I’m done being under cross examination, Mr. Rothman. Where I go or what I do is none of your business.”
Her shriek shrilled through the room as Zeke yanked her from the bed and up against his unyielding body. She blinked in wonder and felt as light as a butterfly as she sailed through the air. The man had the uncanny knack to make her feel like a lightweight! She hadn’t even seen him move for heaven’s sake.
“It has everything to do with me, little snip, and you know it. Deny it all you want but you know as well as I do that we aren’t done. Far from it.”
The way his eyes moved over her face was like a caress … with a branding iron. It scorched every surface it touched and left her breathless … especially when they locked on her pursed lips. They tingled in anticipation.
Kiss me, damn it! Just fucking kiss me!
The demand echoed inside her mind and found resonance in her loins that throbbed with a surge of desire so profound it left her feeling vulnerable and exposed. His lips twitched into a smirk.
“No, I don’t think so.”
It annoyed the hell out of her that he accurately read the need in her eyes. He patted a negligent finger against her lips as he stared at her with eyes that had mellowed and flashed at her like molten silver. He took a step back and combed a glance over her quivering body … in its full naked glory of course.
“A pity that punishment is the only prospect in your foreseeable future, Miss Banks.”
“Not by you it isn’t,” she snipped and planted her fists on her hips, unaware that for the first time ever, she blatantly flaunted her nakedness in front of a man. “Once we arrive in Key West, I daresay we won’t be seeing each other again.”
“Care to take a bet on that?”
Her eyes narrowed as he chuckled at her annoyed expression but try as she might, she couldn’t formulate a response. If there was one thing she didn’t want to think about was that he’d walk away from her for good in a couple of hours.
“I didn’t think so.” He turned and strolled toward the hallway. “Better hustle, Miss Banks. My cousin will be here in an hour.” He glanced at her over his shoulder. He smiled as her nipples turned into hard little stones and saluted the heated glance he dipped downward. “I have no problem accompanying you to the roof all naked and sexy,” the hesitation was marked, “which I will if you’re not dressed by the time the chopper lands on the roof.”
Taylor snapped out of the trance she was in and mumbling under her breath about an annoying Neanderthal, stomped to the bathroom for a quick shower. She didn’t doubt for one second he would do exactly that.
“Why the devil don’t you just tell him the truth, Taylor? He’s going to find out soon enough.”
She listened to the soft lilt of her voice as she dried herself five minutes later. One thing she’d learned in the short time since they’d met was that Zeke wasn’t a man to be trifled with. He knew something about her, there was no denying that.
“He does,” she puffed as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. “He dangled a carrot in front of me, offering me an out and I scoffed at it.”
Taylor wasn’t someone prone to lying and that she’d blatantly done so with him was beyond comprehension. Why did she feel the need to hide her friendship with Peyton from him?
“It’s gonna backfire on you, Taylor.” She sighed heavily as she quickly got dressed in a pair of designer jeans and a red cotton shirt, paired with denim platform sneakers.
Zeke didn’t give her the impression that he suffered fools easily and if she didn’t own up to who she was before they got to Key West, she could forget about setting foot on The Seven Keys Island, that much she was sure of.
It was the one thing she couldn’t afford. She had to get off the grid and fast.
The morning had broken like the sweet melody of a blackbird, full of promise, freshness, and newness to come. It had filled Zeke with hope. Taylor Banks offered him a pathway from the burden of loss that weighed heavily on his shoulders. Her uncontrolled submissive reaction to his dominance had been undeniable and made him feel ten feet tall. He managed to get through to her last night and looked forward to delving deeper this morning. Except, she’d crawled back into her shell—the lying one—and doused the beauty of the morning until it sat on his mind like a cold cup of coffee waiting to be drained away.
A connection like theirs hardly ever happened at first glance and one way or the other, he had to get her to open up and own up to what she was hiding from him. He was tired of pushing everyone away emotionally because of what had happened on his eighteenth birthday. It was time to fight for what he wanted. Irrespective of his feelings the previous night, this morning he’d reached the conclusion that he had no intention of walking away from her.
“Hell no, but she’ll learn very quickly that I abhor lies.”
He headed to the door at the sound of the door chimes echoing through the apartment.
“Ah, breakfast.” He breathed in the aroma of crisp bacon wafting to his nostrils as the server delivering their breakfast removed the cloche covers from the dishes on the cart. “Thanks for your speedy service. I’m starving.” He smiled at the shocked expression on the youngster’s face when he handed him a hundred-dollar tip.
“Wow! Thanks so much, sir. Now I can buy my little sister a birthday present.” His smile slipped. “My dad got laid off after he got injured a year ago and he hasn’t been able to get a job since. I tried saving but on my salary alone supporting a family of five, there isn't money for luxuries.” He blinked away the tears in his eyes. “Thank you for your kindness.”
Zeke leaned his hip against the kitchen counter and regarded the young black man. Pride sparkled in his eyes as he returned his gaze unblinking.
“How old are you,” he glanced at the name tag on his chef’s uniform, “Blake?”
“I’ll be nineteen in two months.”
“And you’re a chef at the hotel?”
“Chef’s assistant. I had to drop out of culinary school and find a job to support my family.” He shrugged. “At least I get to do what I love and I’m learning at the same time.”
“And your father? How did he get hurt?”
“He was a detective at MPDC. He got shot as the security operative while transporting a corrupt government official from the airport to prison. It was near fatal and it took him six months to recover.”
Zeke frowned. “Why did they lay him off?”
“They claimed he didn’t pass the fitness test. They wouldn’t even give him a desk job.” Blake shuffled his feet. “Personally, I think it’s because he came across something that incriminated a politician.”