Zach positioned himself between her legs as she wrapped them tightly around his waist, and he plunged into her, filling her completely.

Regan met him thrust for thrust as her fingers dug into his back, urging him to take her over the slippery edge of control. Her body grew damp beneath his as his teeth trailed down her jaw to her neck and ended with a bite above her collarbone, sending a shock that pulled every muscle in her body.

She breathed his name as she crossed the border from clear sight to that hazy cloud of ecstasy. His body shook against hers before he fell atop her. His weight limp on hers as they both fought for air.

“I don’t know why my father wouldn’t approve of us sleeping in the same room.” The statement was light with laughter as she gasped for breath.

“If he knew what I did to his little girl…” He trailed off and kissed her before rolling to the floor beside her.

“He’d probably kill you. But only after Carlos and Curtis beat you up.”

“Oh, yes. The wrath of the older brothers.” He propped himself up on his elbow and looked down on her. He traced her collarbone with his finger. “Perhaps I can bribe them.”

“Hum, now there’s an option.” She took a deep breath, trying to slow her heart rate back to normal.

“Tell me, Ms. Keller, what do your brothers like?” He ran the pendant around her neck back and forth on the chain.

“Carlos would be easy. He’s very open to matters of money.” She smiled as he nodded. “He could easily be bought off with a car. Nothing cheap either. Something expensive and fast.”

“Got it. A Ferrari would do the trick.”

“Uh-huh.” She nodded. “And red wouldn’t hurt.”

“I’m a man. I totally understand that need.”

“Now, Dr. Curtis would be a bit more difficult. He works so hard he hardly has time to enjoy the pleasantries of material things. What the doctor needs is a woman.”

“Easily done.”

“Oh, no. His tastes are specific.” She smiled again. “He prefers blondes. He feels their tempers are more controlled. He likes them as tall as he is, so that means over six feet tall. They must have a college education and understand how important his job is.”

“Doesn’t seem like he’s asking for much.”

“Oh, I’m not done.” She rolled closer to him and skimmed her finger over his jaw. “She must love children and want eight of them.”

“Eight?”

“Yes, no less. She must make rhubarb pie, and she must—and this is the most important—” She raised her eyebrows to emphasize. “She must speak Spanish, Italian, French, and I think he said Chinese, but that one might be negotiable.”

With a burst of laugher, he rolled to his back, grasping her hand to his chest. “I’m so sorry, Regan. I thought this would work. Your father will have to kill me.”

“I thought the mighty Zachary Benson could do anything.”

“Dr. Curtis may have just proven me wrong.”

“That’s too bad. I was really beginning to like you.” She traced the line of his muscles down his chest with her finger.

Zach grabbed her hand and rolled back to meet her eyes. “Like me? Oh, Regan, I so hoped you’d be falling in love with me by now.”

“Zach…” Her eyes dropped from his stare.

“Don’t use the excuse you’ve done this before.” He lifted her chin with his finger until she shifted her eyes back to his. “You fell in love with the wrong man. So he happened to be your boss, and so do I. That’s only coincidence. I’m not him,” he said with a shake of his head and anger brewing in his eyes.

“No you’re not.”

“Then tell me. Tell me you love me.”

“Zach…”

“I see it in your eyes, Regan. You love me. I know it’s true.”

She sat up, gathered her dress from the floor, and held it to her chest.

Zach sat up next to her and touched her bare shoulder. “Please, Regan. If you don’t love me, tell me that.” His hand was warm and gentle as he rubbed his thumb over her sensitive skin.

“I can’t.”

He stood and pulled her to her feet. “I’ll settle for that.”

Suddenly she was no longer worried that he’d break her heart. Her fear had changed course. Now she was afraid that she would break his.

Chapter nine

Zach was pleased with the state of business as the year inched from spring into summer. Every building site was a bustle of workers doing as much work as they could from sunup to sundown. Completion dates neared. New sites were acquired. New investors were found.

The Nashville project was ahead of schedule, even with the changes that Zach had made. He’d sent John Forrester to Kansas City to get the site up to speed, which he had done skillfully.

“I’m sending John to Memphis at the end of the week,” he told Regan. “I want you to go with him because you were there for the meeting with Byers. We should have been there three weeks ago.” He didn’t like not keeping his word. He had threatened Roger Byers that he’d be back in a week and he’d let his schedule slip. It wasn’t something he’d say aloud, but his diligence to business hadn’t been as important since he’d fallen head over heels in love. Every task was harder to accomplish knowing Regan was right outside his office door. “I need to get to L.A. by the end of the week and see to it that the loose ends are being tied up so we can get that project rolling. If we can finish up Nashville, Memphis, and Kansas City enough to do interior work during the winter, it would be a good time to get L.A. underway.”

He watched as Regan took down every word in her notepad. He leaned his arms on the pile of papers on his desk and inched closer to her. “Once I return from L.A., I’ll need you to set up accommodations at the Ritz Carlton in New York City. First-class airline tickets for two. My mother enjoys the opera, but see what your sister can do to get her tickets to her show.” Regan’s glance finally shifted up to him. “It’s their fortieth wedding anniversary,” he explained.

A warm smile lit her face. “I’ll get those arrangements taken care of,” she said, sitting up straighter and looking across at him. “Is there anything else, Mr. Benson?”

“Yes.” He stood and walked around the desk. He took her hands in his and pulled her to her feet.