Free High by Zara Cox Page B

seat and Bethany felt the seat recline with
an almost silent whine.
    When she was fully reclined, he placed
the throw over her and tucked her in. He picked up the glass and raised an
eyebrow at her.
    She shook her head because she didn’t
need any more alcohol. Between the power of his words and gentleness of his
touch, her whole body was buzzing.
    This man was strong, powerful, but sensitive
in a way that woke fear deep in her heart. If she wasn’t careful, he could
devastate her. And all even before he’d laid a single finger on her.
    He turned back to her and sent her one
of those soul-melting smiles. Then, his earpiece back in place, he launched
into another business conversation.
    She tried to read a magazine for a
while then felt her lids beginning to droop. It was as she was falling asleep,
nestled in the thick luxury of the cashmere throw that the thought intruded.
    She’d never asked him what he’d meant
by when the time is right .

 
    Chapter Seven

 
    Her breath caught at the heart-stopping
sight of the Eiffel Tower. Beside her, in the luxurious cocoon of his Maybach
Laundaulet, Zachary turned to her and smiled, but there was a distance in his
eyes—the same distance she’d noted when they’d landed half an hour ago—that
made alarm tingle down her spine.
    “Is this your first time in Paris?” he
asked.
    “No, my parents brought me here for my
twenty-first. I promised myself I’d return one day.” She didn’t add that she’d
promised to return with the man she loved. The man she’d thought for a long
time would be Chris.
    She pressed agitated hands on the soft
white leather seat and forced the thought away. They were in the city made for
lovers.
    When, exactly, she and Zachary Savage
would attain that status was beginning to loom like a specter of uncertainty in
her mind. She glanced at him and noted his jaw was set harder than it had been
minutes ago.
    Was he worried about his meeting? Did
the city hold memories in some way that didn’t sit well with him?
    “This isn’t your first time,
obviously,” she ventured.
    “No, it isn’t. But I hope after today I
can stay clear for a while.”
    She frowned. “Why would you want to
stay clear?”
    “I’m hoping to conclude my business
today. Then there won’t be any need to return.”
    His phone pinged with yet another phone
call. The last twelve hours had shown her just how busy he was. His phone never
stopped ringing. She was stunned he’d managed to keep it off while he was
touring Shanghai with her.
    This time the conversation was
conducted in low, seductive lilting French, which turned surprisingly clipped
before he hung up.
    “Everything okay?” she couldn’t help
but ask. More and more she was realizing just how little she knew about him.
    He turned those mesmerizing eyes on her
but when he smiled, it looked strained. “Not yet, but I’ll take care of it.
We’re here.”
    Her attention was drawn from him to
their destination.
    The Indigo Belle Plaza was even more
breathtaking than the Indigo Shanghai had been. This building took up a proud
and possessive corner of the Rue de Rivoli, with stunning historical architecture
steeped in every stone. It exuded wealth and class in a way very few buildings
could, from the porticoed windows to the indigo flags fluttering in the breeze alongside
French flags from what looked like solid gold masts.
    Her heart hammered as she was helped
from the back seat by a starchly-uniformed doorman. Just as in Shanghai, Zach
was treated like royalty.
    She watched, semi-bemused as the
manager bowed and scraped them into the elevator that took them to the
presidential suite.
    They’d barely entered when Zach turned
to her. That restless distance was still in place, making her heart pound with
dread. Before she could summon the courage to ask him what was going on, he
started to back away.
    “Make yourself at home. Order room
service. I will be back in a few hours.”
    “O…okay.”
    He started walking