A Perfect Husband Read Free Page B

gist of what they were about. She took the sheets and stuffed them back into the folder. “I didn’t know you could fly.”
    “It’s not something I advertise.”
    Unlike the lavish parties he regularly attended and the endless stream of gorgeous models he escorted. Although, flying did fit with his love of extreme sports: diving, kitesurfing and snowboarding, to name a few. Zane had a wel -publicized love for anything that involved adrenaline.
    It occurred to Lilah, as she jammed the folder in her tote bag, out of sight, that she didn’t know what Lucas liked to do in his spare time. She must make the effort to find out.
    Zane shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it over the arm of the seat across the aisle. “How long have you been afraid of flying?”
    Lilah tore her gaze from the snug fit of his black T-shirt and the muscular swel of tanned biceps. She was certain that beyond an intoxicating whiff of sandalwood she could detect the scent of his skin.
    Her blush deepened as she was momentarily flung back to the night of The Episode. Zane had suggested they go to an empty reception room so they could indulge their mutual passion for art by studying the oils displayed on the wal s.

    She couldn’t remember much about the garish abstracts.
    She would never forget the moment Zane had pul ed her close. The clean, masculine scent of his skin and the exotic undernote of sandalwood had fil ed her nostrils, making her head spin. When he had kissed her, his taste had fil ed her mouth.
    Somehow they had ended up on a wide, comfortable couch. At some point the bodice of her dress had drifted to her waist, a detail that should have alarmed her. Zane had taken one breast in his mouth and her whole body had coiled unbearably tight. She could remember clutching at his shoulders, a flash of dizzying, heated pleasure, the room shimmering out of focus.
    If the door hadn’t popped open at that moment and Zane’s date, who was also his previous personal assistant, a gorgeous redhead cal ed Gemma, hadn’t walked in, Lilah shuddered to think what would have happened next. She had dragged her bodice up and clambered off the couch.
    By the time she had found her clutch, which had ended up underneath the couch, Zane had shrugged into his jacket.
    After a clipped good-night, he had left with Gemma.
    The echoing silence after the heady, intimate passion had stung. He had not suggested they meet again, which had put The Episode in its horrifying context.
    Zane had not wanted a relationship; he had just wanted an interlude. Sex. He had probably thought they had been on the verge of a one night stand, that she was easy .
    Embarrassingly, she had forgotten every relationship rule she had rigidly stuck to for the twelve years she had been dating.
    Zane walking out so quickly then never bothering to fol ow up with a telephone cal or text had been a blessing. It had confirmed what she had both read about him and discovered firsthand—that no matter how attractive, he could not be trusted in a relationship. If he couldn’t commit to a phone cal , it was unlikely he would commit to marriage.
    Another shuddering crash of thunder jerked her back to the present.
    Aware that Zane was waiting for an answer, she busied herself fastening her seat belt. “I’ve been afraid of flying forever.”
    Instead of sitting where he’d slung his jacket, Zane lowered himself into the seat next to hers.
    She stiffened as he pried her hand off the armrest. “What are you doing?”
    His fingers curled warmly through hers. “Holding your hand. Tried-and-true remedy.”
    Nervous tension, along with the tingling heat of his touch, zinged through her at the skin-on-skin contact. There was something distinctly forbidden about holding hands with Zane Atraeus.
    Il egitimate and wild, according to the tabloids, Zane had been the instant ruination of hundreds of women, and promised to be the ruination of even more in the future. She had the shattering firsthand knowledge