Billionaire Undaunted:The Billionaire's Obsession ~ Zane(9)

Ellie could believe that. She saw video cameras and motion lights click on as they went down the driveway. "Is it that bad?"

"Bad enough to be cautious," he answered as he pulled his vehicle into a  massive garage. "Since I keep a research lab here, I'm careful. I'm  rich enough, and my lab has made me even richer. I might not care about  the money, but there's a lot of it to be had with the right research in  biotech."

"Your lab here … it's in the house?" Not that she doubted that a lab would  fit inside the enormous mansion she'd gotten a brief look at on the way  down the drive. But it was getting late, and it got dark early in the  winter. She hadn't seen much except the enormous size.

He shook his head as he shut off the engine. "Not in the main living area. It's underground."

Ellie held up a hand when he headed toward the passenger side to help  her out. "I can walk. I want to." After lying in bed for so long, it  felt good to be up and walking.

He frowned. "The doctor said no heavy physical exertion for a few weeks."

She gave him a stubborn look. "I hardly think that walking qualifies as heavy physical exertion. I'm fine. Really. Please."

Reluctantly, he grabbed her bag in the backseat and unlocked the door,  waiting for her to walk around the SUV. He hovered as she went up the  few steps in the garage and into the house.

"Shit!"

Ellie heard the low, frustrated curse behind her. "What?"

"I forgot to have somebody come over and clean things up. The house is kind of a mess," he answered sheepishly.

She stopped and turned around, tears springing to her eyes. "Do you  think I care about that? You're giving me a temporary home. I'm  grateful."

It was hard to believe he cared about the fact that he hadn't cleaned up because she was going to be here.

"I care. You deserve better after the shithole you were forced to endure  for months." He dropped the bag on the floor of the entry hallway and  advanced until her back was against the wall. "You've been through hell  and back. I want you to have some of the things you didn't have while  you were held prisoner by that psychotic asshole."

Ellie sighed when he was close enough to smell, and then close enough to  touch. "What are you doing?" She looked up at him curiously as he put a  hand on each side of the wall, temporarily surrounding her with his  heat.

His expression was intense, his smoldering gray eyes hot enough to  incinerate her on the spot. "Giving you something you've never had. I'm  going for breathless. Kiss me, Ellie," he demanded as a few dark locks  of his hair fell to the very top of his eyes.

"W-why?" she stammered, wanting nothing else except to obey his command.  She wanted his hard body pressed against her, his mouth on hers, making  her feel alive again.

There was no fleeting second of panic as he imprisoned her. He wasn't  touching her. But dear God, she wanted him to touch her … desperately.         

     



 

"Because I said so," he replied arrogantly. "I want to give you something you've never had. A lot of things, actually."

"Am I supposed to obey your every command?" she said, stalling because  she couldn't believe he was looking at her like he really wanted to kiss  her. Just staring at the ferocious expression on his face nearly made  her breathless.

"No. It would be easier if you did, but I know that's never going to  happen." As soon as the words left his mouth, he lowered his head, his  lips so close to hers that she could feel the heat of his breath on her  face.

The sensations bombarding her made her shudder. Slowly, her hands crept  up his chest. She pushed his wayward hair back from his eyes, and then  wrapped her arms around his neck. "You don't have to do this because it  was some silly, unfulfilled wish of mine when I thought I was dying,"  she whispered nervously.

"I'm not. I'm doing this for me, too," he informed her brusquely before  he cradled the back of her head and then lowered his mouth to hers.





His embrace was everything Ellie had ever dreamed of … and so much more.  Mesmerized by the heat of his mouth, she opened to him and let him  explore with his tongue, the demanding sweetness of his possession  almost bringing her to her knees. If he hadn't wrapped one of his arms  around her waist, she might have actually swooned like an idiot.

She did forget everything else except the pulsating blood pumping through her veins and the feel of Zane's demanding embrace.

She wanted the kiss to last forever, but he pulled back and gently  nipped at her lips before fusing their mouths again with more tenderness  than Ellie had ever known.

When he finally stepped back, Ellie's entire body was trembling, and she was definitely breathless.

"Is your wish fulfilled?" Zane rasped, low and sensual.

"Y-yes," she stammered as she struggled to breathe normally again, her brain and body still reeling.

"You forgot everything else? You got breathless?"

"Completely," she admitted in a rush. "What about you? You said this wasn't just for me."

He nodded. "I'm satisfied … for now."

Zane picked up her bag and took her hand, leading her through the enormous kitchen and into the living room.

Neither one of them seemed to want to speak, as though it might ruin the  magical connection that had just happened in the hallway.

It was amazing for me, but maybe it was just a kiss for him.

Telling herself she was being silly to analyze a simple kiss, she said,  "This house is enormous." The ceiling was vaulted so high she had to  crane her neck to see it.

Zane took off his jacket and then reached out to help her remove hers. "It's big," he conceded. "I'll give you a tour."

Ellie was rendered speechless as he led her through some of the  downstairs bedrooms, each one the size of her old apartment and with  their own baths. The master bedroom had a door leading to a hot springs  area, something every Colter seemed to have in their homes. But when  they finally entered an enormous marble tiled room with an indoor pool,  she gasped. "This is unbelievable." She couldn't imagine being able to  swim year-round.

"There's a gym through that door." He pointed at an entrance on the far side of the room.

By the time he'd finished the tour, even showing her the room upstairs  where her belongings were being kept, Ellie was exhausted. She followed  him back downstairs and to the kitchen wearily.

"Do you want me to take the room with my stuff?" she asked uncertainly.

"Hell, no. It's a mess up there. You can sort it out when you feel  better. Take one of the bedrooms downstairs. Then you don't have to  climb up and down the stairs all the time. Do you want your clothes?"

Ellie shook her head slowly. None of her old stuff would fit anymore.  "I'll go through them tomorrow." She'd salvage whatever she could.

She could feel the tension between the two of them and Ellie wondered if  she should just have him show her to her room and go to bed.

"I'm not going to apologize for kissing you," Zane said quietly, rocking  back on his heels as he put his hands in the front pockets of his  jeans.

Ellie was startled by the abrupt change of subject, but he'd obviously  been thinking as much about that kiss as she had during their tour of  the house. They'd both discarded their outerwear before the tour had  started, but Ellie was still overheated as she stared at Zane's stubborn  expression, her eyes unable to keep from drifting down his muscular  body as he finally leaned a hip against the kitchen counter and crossed  his arms in front of him, stretching the material of the beautiful green  sweater he was wearing.         

     



 

"I didn't ask you to," she answered quickly. "And I'm not apologizing  for kissing you back." She was silent for a few seconds before she  ventured, "Maybe we should just try to forget that it happened.  Everything has been pretty emotional since you found me."

"I'll never forget it," he told her gutturally. "Sometimes I can't stop  looking at you because I still can't believe you're here, that you're  really alive. I had to touch you, Ell." He paused for a heart-stopping  moment, looking like he wanted to say more about his motivations, but  didn't. Abruptly, he turned toward the refrigerator and changed the  topic, his voice casual again. "Now let's see if there's any food in the  house. I have no idea what's here."

"I'm not that hungry," Ellie protested, confused by Zane's confession.  Maybe everything still felt as surreal to him as it did to her. Maybe  they just momentarily needed some kind of connection.

"Doesn't matter. You need to eat." He turned around and strode back to  the hallway and picked up her belongings bag from the hospital and made  his way back to the hallway with the bedrooms, Ellie following behind  him. He stopped in one to drop off her bag. "You can stay in here," he  instructed as he stopped at the doorway on his way out of the suite.  "I'm just down the hall." He pointed to the master bedroom with the hot  springs.