Dream Girl (2 page)

He forced himself not to look at her, just took the shot. The ball rolled fast with left-handed English, hit another ball, and he knew it was bad. The ball hit the one he needed to sink and rolled in to the side rail.

Shit.

He raised his dismayed gaze to hers as she laughed sympathetically. “Nice try."

He shook his head, but he wasn't really mad. Not when he got to watch her bend over the table, her lacy blue thong peeking over the top of her jeans, her cute little ass temptingly thrust out. Oh man. He groaned.

She took her shot, another challenging one, and this time she sunk it. Laughing and tossing her hair, she lined up for the next one. Her little pink tongue came out and touched her upper lip while she concentrated. Then she glanced up at him, and her face kind of changed as she lost her concentration. He was sure she could see his arousal and appreciation, and her fingers slipped a little on the shaft of her cue.

"Damn,” she said as her shot went a hair wide.

It was his turn now. And it wasn't even hard. Well, the shot wasn't hard, but
he
was. “Eight ball in the corner pocket,” he said smugly. With an effortless flick of his wrist, he sunk the ball and grinned.

"Good game,” Zach said with genuine approval. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much fun playing pool.

She smiled back at him, not too disturbed by losing.

"I think you're better than you let on.” He stood right in front of her, so close they were almost touching, so close he could see the glints of gold in her eyes. They reminded him of the effervescent bubbles in a good, clear amber ale. “That wasn't your ‘A’ game, was it?"

She blinked and her lips curved enticingly; she hitched one shoulder. “Maybe not."

He laughed with delight. “Come on, I'll buy you a beer,” he offered, taking her cue and replacing it on the wall.

She hesitated and glanced around, as if looking for her friend. Placing his hand lightly on the small of her back, Zach directed her back to their barstools. He put a hand out and held hers while she climbed up. Her hand felt small and delicate in his larger one, and as she rose onto the stool, her scent surrounded him—a fresh, fruity scent that smelled ... delicious. Like strawberries and watermelon.

He was painfully aware of her now, sitting beside him. She was his dream girl come to life—gorgeous, blonde, and she liked beer and played pool. Wow. Zach silently thanked Connor for standing him up.

"So Blondie, another of the same?"

She lifted a brow. “Blondie?"

"I don't know your name,” he admitted apologetically. “I'm Zach."

"Ashlyn.” She slid her little hand into his, and he held it again as he looked at her appealing face. She met his gaze and awareness sizzled between them.

Just then the bartender arrived, and Zach ordered two more of the same.

"So did you learn to play pool from your three brothers?” Zach asked.

Ashlyn smiled. “Yeah. I had to keep up with them. How about you? You've obviously played a lot."

He grinned. “In high school, my brother and I spent more time at the pool hall than in classes, much to my mother's dismay.” He shrugged. “Now it's good for stress relief."

She nodded. “I guess there's a lot of stress that comes with running your own business."

They sipped cold beer and talked. Ashlyn fascinated Zach. She was so sweet and pretty and sexy. She told him she was a student at UC Rocky Harbor, taking some kind of computer classes, so she was obviously smart, too. As she grew more comfortable, she smiled and met his eyes more often. And every time she did, it was like a live current jolted through him. She even put her hand on his forearm when they laughed.

He grew harder and hornier as they talked, too, aroused not just by her looks but by her rapt interest in everything he said. The attention was seriously stimulating.

An intense aching settled low inside Zach, a craving for her building up in him, red hot, burning. He started to think Ashlyn might feel the same, as her knee brushed his and she touched his arm. Then when their eyes met, they held each other's gazes, and her tongue came out and touched her pretty upper lip.

God. A hot jolt of desire stabbed through him.

The seductive invitation in her eyes drew him in, surrounding him in a hot haze of sexual desire. Two hours later they were still sitting there, talking and laughing. Zach's fingers were entwined with Ashlyn's, resting on the bar. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, watched her pupils dilate. He couldn't stand any more of this extended foreplay. He was so hard and full it hurt.

"How about we leave here and go back to my place for a drink?” he suggested. “I've got some of that amber ale..."

She looked at him, and he could see from the sparkle in her eye that she wanted to come home with him.

"Your place?” she asked.

"Shit.” He hesitated. “I forgot. We can't go to my place. My kitchen is being renovated, so I've been staying with my brother. We definitely can't go there."

"Oh.” Ashlyn still gazed at him. Heat smoldered in her eyes, and her teeth sank into her lush lower lip. He waited for her to offer her own place. “Well, I guess we could go to my place.” She licked her lips again.

"Great,” he said with relief. He leaned closer and brushed a kiss across her lips. “You are so sweet,” he whispered. Then he gave a hoarse laugh. “I can't believe this."

"What?” Her eyes were huge in her small face.

"Meeting you like this. You're my dream girl.” He reached out and toyed with a strand of her hair, rubbing the golden silk between his fingers.

Ashlyn blushed, smiled and shook her head.

"Seriously,” he insisted. He pulled his wallet out and tossed some bills onto the bar to cover both their tabs. She was still leaning towards him, so he kissed her again. This time his mouth lingered on hers, his tongue sliding softly along her bottom lip. She opened for him invitingly, and he slanted his mouth across hers. His tongue licked inside her mouth as he cupped his hand on her cheek.

"Wow,” he said when he drew back a moment later, his breath choppy. He met her gaze again and saw that her eyes were darker with arousal, too. Her hand came up to cover his on her face, and then she turned her mouth into his palm and pressed a kiss there. That undid him. “Christ,” he groaned. “Let's go.” He slid off the stool as she picked up her purse and, holding it under one arm, followed him out of the bar.

Out on the street, they paused. The bar was in a busy nightlife area in Rocky Harbor, California, so traffic filled the streets while people lined the well-lit sidewalks. A cool breeze off the ocean drifted over them.

"So where do you live, Blondie?” Zach put his hands on her waist and faced her. She smiled and gave him the address. He nodded.

"My car is around the corner,” she said. “How about you?"

"In the parking lot over there, but I'll walk you to your car."

She shook her head. “That's okay,” she murmured. “There are lots of people around.” They stood there, looking at each other, sexual tension snapping between them. The urgent hunger he felt for her made him lean down for another kiss. This time, standing face to face rather than sitting on barstools, he could put his arms around her and pull her against him. God, she felt good in his arms, all warm and soft, her curves fitting his harder body perfectly, her fresh fruity scent filling his head. He kissed her, a long, deep, swallowing kiss, open-mouthed, tongues sliding, body pressed to body. Everything inside him drew up tighter until he thought he was going to combust right there on the sidewalk. He pulled back to stare at her. Ashlyn, too, was breathing in shallow pants, her eyes drownin-me liquid and hot.

She touched his cheek. “I'll meet you at my place."

Zach nodded, brushed his mouth over hers again, and then smiled as she slowly, almost dreamily moved away from him. He watched her walk down the street and around the corner.

And that was the last he saw of her.

[Back to Table of Contents]

"She gave me the wrong bloody address,” Zach growled to his brother the next day in his office.

"You think on purpose?” Connor asked, lounging back in a leather chair.

"Hell yeah. Nobody makes a mistake like that. ‘Oops, I forgot what street I live on.’ Jesus.” He shook his head. “I go up to the house like an idiot and wake up this old guy who doesn't know her, doesn't know anybody like her, swears she's not a neighbor. Shit."

He looked down at the papers clenched in his hand and shook his head. “She was my dream girl,” he complained, throwing himself into the chair behind his desk. Papers, folders, magazines and test tubes lay scattered from one corner of the desk to the other. “The perfect woman."

Connor laughed. “Only you would know the girl of your dreams after an hour.
And
try to get her into bed after an hour."

"I know, you think I'm too..."

"Impulsive? Rash?” Connor asked, still grinning. “At least you didn't ask her to marry you, like ... what was her name?"

"Okay,
that
was a mistake. But seriously,” Zach said. “I'm telling you—smart, gorgeous, a pool shark,
and
...” he paused. “She loves beer. She even knew our brewery."

Connor's brows lifted, and he appeared reluctantly impressed. “Can you find her?"

Zach scowled. “I only know her first name and that she's a student at UC Rocky Harbor. That's it."

"Uh ... maybe the bartender knows her, if she plays pool a lot. We could go back there and ask him."

Zach nodded. “Yeah. And you're buying. This is all your fault for not showing up. Where the hell were you, anyway?"

"Sorry, man. I had a meeting with those potential investors from San Francisco. They wanted to continue our meeting over dinner, and it went late."

"You could have called instead of just leaving me there waiting."

"My phone died.” Connor grimaced. “And I kind of lost track of time. You think
you're
mad, Jess is really pissed off."

Zach winced. “How late were you?"

"Pretty late. But they're on board now with the financing. Definitely interested. So it was all worth it. You and Jess will get over it."

"I will. Hopefully your wife will too. You've been working so much lately, I know she's not happy about it."

"I know.” Connor sighed. “But this expansion is important. We have to get everything in place. And this crap with Steinbrau hasn't been helping."

Zach rubbed his face. Yeah, business was complicated lately. Last night he and Connor had planned to cut loose a little, play some pool, drink some beers and let off some steam. Instead he was more wound up than ever.

He wondered what Ashlyn's deal was. Had she chickened out? He couldn't blame her for not wanting to take a perfect stranger home, no matter how hot they were for each other. Yeah, he was attracted to her, but he didn't just want to sleep with her. They'd had so much fun, talking, laughing, playing pool.

If only she'd said something ... if she'd changed her mind about going back to her place, he would have been fine if she'd just given him her name and phone number. He would have called her, asked her out, played by the rules.

Connor was talking business again. “So Friday night it's your turn to go schmooze with investors,” he said. “There's a big shindig at the Bonaventure."

"Great.” Zach rolled his eyes. That meant a suit and tie, not his scene at all, but he'd do it for the business.

Ashlyn handed the envelope containing a three-page typed report and a DVD to her client, Jessica Montgomery. They sat at a small table at the back of Java Jack's, where the growl and hiss of the espresso maker made talking difficult for a moment.

Ashlyn eyed Jessica's expensive-looking suit enviously. The raspberry color set off her dark hair and eyes. The woman was intimidatingly elegant, with her sleek hair, diamond earrings and slim gold watch. A pair of killer pink pumps flattered her long legs.

Ashlyn sighed. She'd never been a girly girl who was into clothes and shoes, but right then she felt scruffy and very ... student-like in her jeans, T-shirt and ponytail, carrying a backpack instead of a Coach leather purse. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind one ear.

But despite Jessica's style and elegance, her eyes were red and puffy, and she swiped a tear away.

"I'm sorry,” Ashlyn said, feeling a little stab in her heart. Jessica seemed truly heartbroken. It was never enjoyable to confirm to a wife that her husband was willing to cheat on her. But since all men were lying, cheating pond scum, it seemed to happen pretty much all the time. In this case, Ashlyn was struggling with her own emotions because Jessica's husband had seemed so nice and genuine—not to mention heart-scorchingly, panty-meltingly hot. Ashlyn had been forced to fight her own attraction to him, which was so, so wrong.

"It's better to know,” Jessica replied stoically. “Better to know for sure than to keep wondering, worrying.” Her voice broke on the last words, and she choked back a sob.

Ashlyn picked up her cardboard cup and took a sip of the hot brew. The rich, dark scent teased her nostrils. She could never tell Jessica that she totally understood why her client was so devastated. With a husband that sexy, that funny, that warm and attentive...

Low-life scum, Ashlyn reminded herself. She finished her coffee. “The invoice for our services is in there, too.” She nodded at the unopened envelope on the table.

"I have the cash,” Jessica said. “I didn't want to write a check that Connor could trace ... just in case...” Her voice trailed off miserably. She handed an envelope of cash over to Ashlyn, who tucked it into her backpack.

"Thank you,” she said as professionally as possible. “Please let us know if we can be of any assistance again."

Ashlyn picked up her backpack, said goodbye to Jessica, and left.

Working part-time as a sex decoy paid well and let Ashlyn work evenings, so she could attend class and study during the day. She was also doing something for her fellow woman by exposing the true lying, cheating nature of men. Except sometimes—and especially this time—her job kind of left her feeling empty and cold, even a little guilty.