“I know.” She smiled at him and closed the distance between them as Roger laid rubber, backing out of her driveway. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she said, “Just consider it an exercise in patience. I had to have one all damn afternoon.”
“Hmmm.” He rubbed his cheek against hers and murmured, “And why is that?”
“A bunch of reasons.” She could name about fifty-two dozen and they all started with Zach. But instead of listing those, she rested her head against his shoulder and said, “My damned mother called.”
“Ah. She who shall not be named.”
Abigale grimaced. “She called and instead of ignoring the call, I answered it.” She breathed in his scent and felt a punch of heat spread through her. He was wearing cologne, she realized. Something subtle. Something faintly exotic and dark. It teased her senses and made her want to press her face against him and seek out the source of it.
His palm came up and rested low on her spine. “If it would make you feel better, I could go call her. Yell at her. Snarl or swear or do something worse. Would that help?”
A gurgle of laughter escaped her and she tipped her head back, staring at him. “No.” She touched her hand to his cheek. “I think I’m okay. Mostly.”
Dark eyes searched hers for a long, long moment before he nodded. “If you’re sure. You really do look amazing, Abby. And I think I need to distract you.”
“Distract me, huh?” She arched a brow at him. “And just how are you going to do that?”
“I’ve got my ways,” he said easily. He stroked a hand down her back, up and down, slow, teasing strokes that felt like they’d drive her out of her mind if she wasn’t careful. “I’m going to have a hard time doing anything but staring at you.” Then he smoothed a hand down over the skirt, cupping her butt in his palm. “Are you wearing panties?”
She jolted in his hand. “Well . . . yeah.”
“Go inside and take them off.”
She blushed and jerked back, staring up at him. “What?”
“You heard me.” He flashed a wicked grin at her. “You want a hot, wild affair, right? Why not go out to dinner without your panties on?”
“No.” She pulled away from him, only to have him catch her elbow and pull her back against him.
“Oh, come on . . . it’s a pair of underwear,” he teased, nuzzling her neck. “And I can’t tell you what it would do to me to think about you sitting across from me without any panties on . . . you can take the stockings off and . . .”
She pulled back and wrinkled her nose. “No. But you come inside and I’ll show you something that might make it hard for you to think anyway.”
* * *
Maybe he should be careful about the games he was going to play, Zach thought after Abby had shut the door behind her and disarmed the alarm. She shot him a nervous look. Nervous . . . and hot. There was both dismay and heat in her eyes, as though she wanted to bolt and plunge right into this.
Whatever this was.
Deciding to make it easy on her, he moved a few feet into the house and sprawled on the staircase. “So what were you going to show me?”
She fingered the material of the full skirt flaring around her legs. The material was pale pink, glowing against her skin like a rose. Zach smirked to himself as he thought it. She went and made him start thinking poetic thoughts like that, turned him into a knot with just a smile. He was a mess.
The heels of her shoes clicked on the floor as she came toward him and he found himself mesmerized by her legs. The skirt was modest, just an inch below her knees, but still, the heels and her legs . . .
“Ah . . . you know, if you don’t show me soon,” he said, dragging his eyes up to stare at her face. “I think you should have to take the panties off. Just on principle.”
“That’s a weird principle.” She smiled at him, still fingering the skirt and watching him with that hot, almost fevered look in her eyes. “But I’m going to show you. Or better yet . . . you can see for yourself.”
She caught a fistful of her skirt and dragged it up and Zach felt his heart all