“You’re beautiful,” he rasped softly.
Marissa opened her eyes, her teeth biting her lower lip as her body shifted against his, wanting to feel that electric current that had bolted through her body a moment ago. But as her eyes focused, she realized where she was and what she was doing. With a start, she pulled out of his arms and took several steps backwards. “What are you doing?” she demanded, her eyes wide with both confusion that she could let something like that happen and embarrassment that he had been the one to stop their love making.
He leaned forward and grabbed her around the waist once again, pulling her against him and ignoring her resistance. “I was kissing you,” he said softly and bent down to take her lips again. She resisted for a moment, but he quickly felt her lips respond.
Zeke didn’t take that kiss deeper. He wasn’t sure if his body could handle her passionate reaction again and not carry her into his bedroom so he stepped back but kept his hands on her waist. “And now, I’m going to make you something to eat. I know you’re ravenously hungry.”
Marissa wasn’t sure if he was still talking about food, but she followed him into his penthouse, amazed at the stunning views of Chicago from this level. “You certainly enjoy your heights, don’t you?”
He looked out and nodded his head. “It relaxes me.”
She smiled slightly, trying to imagine him relaxed. “What else do you do to relax?” she asked softly, surprised by how much she wanted to get to know this tall, commanding man. From a distance though! She was sure to keep several feet between them now, knowing what happened whenever he touched her. Apparently, she didn’t have much resistance when it came to this tall, strange man. And that bothered her. She felt cheap and naughty.
The wicked gleam in his eyes told her what he was going to say before he said it. “Don’t!” she laughed despite her negative thoughts, shaking her head and trying to pull back from him. “I don’t want to know.”
He threw back his head and laughed, not letting her retreat too far. “I was only going to say that I enjoy cooking,” he replied and pulled her through his home.
Marissa looked around as he led her through an enormous living room filled with comfortable but well placed pieces of furniture. “This looks….surprisingly nice.”
He glanced back at her, amused by her comment. “Why is it surprising?”
She shrugged even though he couldn’t see her. “I would have pictured you in a place filled with uncomfortable, modern furniture. All black or brown and looking like you barely use any of it.” His penthouse was the complete opposite with comfortable looking chairs placed near a large, gas fireplace with a stone surround. She could picture herself curled up right next to him on a lazy Sunday afternoon with a fire crackling and the newspaper spread out around each of them as they tossed one section and reached for another.
He shook his head as he pulled her into an enormous kitchen filled with stainless steel appliances and long, granite counters. There were cabinets everywhere and a sleek island surrounding the work area with tall stools pushed up to the edge. “I don’t spend a lot of time here with my schedule and travel, but when I come home, I want a place I can relax and enjoy. I don’t want to be poked by my furniture.”
She had to agree with him. Even his terrace was filled with green bushes planted around comfortable looking outdoor furniture. The railing was actually made of glass so it didn’t impede one’s view of the skyline. “I’m sure this is magnificent in the evenings. I can imagine sitting out there and enjoying a glass of wine after a tough day.”
He pulled down two glasses and grabbed a bottle from a smaller refrigerator underneath one of the cabinets. “Why don’t you experience it instead of just imagining it?” He poured her a glass of chilled, white wine and handed it to her.
Marissa stared at the wine, then glanced out to the terrace. “I don’t…”
Zeke shook his head, silently interrupting her. “Go relax. Once I’ve finished making our lunch you’re going to talk and I need you liquored up before you’ll let yourself do that.”
Marissa couldn’t help but laugh at his blatant warning that he was going to get her drunk. “Well, at least you give me warning.”
He winked at her and led her over to the terrace, opening the door for her. “I’ll be out with some food in a moment. I’ll just stick something in the oven for us and then we can get down to business.”
Marissa took a seat on one of the overstuffed, deep chairs and slipped her shoes off, curling her legs up underneath her. She took a sip of the delicious wine, savoring the fruity, crisp taste and breathing deeply. Another spasm of pain shot through her head and she gripped the edge of the chair until it abated once again.
With a deep sigh, she let her head fall backwards, trying to release the tension of the past several days. She needed to find her sister, she thought and ignored the next stab of pain. This one was shorter so she didn’t reach into her purse for the medicine. She could handle this, she told herself. It wasn’t too bad and if she could relax deeply enough, she could get through this without the medicine. She hated taking her migraine medicine unless she was sure the migraine was coming on full force. Sometimes she could relax out of an episode. The medicine made her loopy and she didn’t want to deal with that today. She had too many problems to deal with and being loopy wouldn’t help.
She hated the migraines but if it came right down to it, she’d have to take the medicine despite the fact that it made her groggy and sleepy. Relaxing helped keep them at bay, but only if she could release the tension. After the last few days, the demands of her father, her missing sister and the kiss she’d just experienced, she’d have to work hard not to lose control.
Control was key, she told herself and shifted her shoulders.
Food was probably a good idea as well. She took another sip of her wine, conscious of the possibility that she might need to take her migraine medicine. Mixing alcohol and medicine wouldn’t be good at all.
“You need to eat,” Zeke said, appearing suddenly and placing a plate of something that smelled delicious in front of her before disappearing back through the tall, elegant glass doors.
She saw him doing something else in the kitchen and thought it might be impolite to eat while he wasn’t with her. But he’d told her to go ahead and she couldn’t resist the scrumptious smells any longer. Taking a tentative bite, she was surprised at the warm, gooey taste of cheese and the salty pop of the capers. She wasn’t sure what this was on the toasted baguette, but it was delicious! She ate half the plate before he came back out with two more plates of food.