They ate in silence and were definitely not acting like two people who’d shared a bed hours ago. Two people who had scorched the sheets. He was programmed to act like he didn’t give a damn—but what was her excuse? And did she have to sit there looking good enough to eat this morning? Beautiful as ever, with every strand of hair in place and her natural beauty almost taking his breath away? Hell, he bet she would look gorgeous even on a bad day. Even on a bad night. But she hadn’t had a bad night. He thought it had been good. All good. Mind-blowing, earth-shattering good. So why wasn’t she annoyed with him instead of being downright friendly?

  “I know you want to get started on your work today, so don’t worry about cleaning up the kitchen. I’ll take care of it.”

  Was she trying to get rid of him? Rush him off? Why did the thought irritate the hell out of him? “Will you?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you’re sure it’s okay?”

  “Positive, Zion. That’s the least I can do after all you did.”

  He lifted a brow. “All I did?”

  “Yes. Breakfast is good.”

  “Thanks.” He took a sip of his coffee as a stream of sensations flooded his stomach. Breakfast might be good, but what they’d shared in that bed last night had been over-the-top sensational. She might have pushed all the memories to the back of her mind, but he was determined that tonight, and all the nights that followed, she would never forget.

  Chapter 17

  Celine got up from the table to pour another cup of coffee. Glancing out the window, she saw it was dark, which made sense since it was close to ten at night. It was hard to believe this was her fourth day here.

  Over the last couple of days she and Zion had established a comfortable routine. Every morning they shared a breakfast he prepared, and then he would leave to go work at the cottage. She used her free time during the day to research real estate for the future expansion of Second Chances. An additional facility to house more homeless individuals would be needed sooner rather than later.

  Zion usually stopped for lunch and they prepared something together, often soup and sandwiches. He would return to work until around five in the evening. That gave her a chance to prepare dinner. She loved his kitchen and had found a recipe book with a number of dishes she’d tried.

  She enjoyed the time they spent together. He’d told her more about his godbrothers and the women they’d married, as well as his godparents. Zion had even told her about the club that he and his five godbrothers had formed, the Bachelors in Demand Guarded Hearts Club, and the reason for doing so. It seemed at the time all six of them had been going through their own personal hell with women, and they’d made a pledge to remain single forever. Celine couldn’t help but wonder what personal hell a woman had put Zion through.

  He’d told her that all five of his godbrothers had married since then, leaving him the lone member of the club, but that he was determined to keep it going, no matter what.

  Zion rarely spoke of his parents, and those times he did, she was the one who initiated the discussion. She knew his father, now retired, had been a sales executive at a company that sold medical equipment to hospitals, and his mother had been a nurse. Only because she’d asked, he had told her how his parents had met, but she hadn’t been able to tell whether their marriage had been a happy one.

  Celine had also shared information about herself. He hadn’t asked her about her ex, Jerome, and she’d seen no reason to tell him. Nor had she mentioned anything about Second Chances. Instead she’d told him about her days at the university and about her friendship with Desha.

  They would clean up the kitchen together and wind down their day by watching a movie in his theater room. Then they would retire, always using her bed in the guest room. He would make hot, blazing love to her, causing her to scream his name and behave wantonly between the sheets.

  Celine would admit that she looked forward to her nights with him, when the sexual chemistry that had been building all day would reach the point of no return, and making love seemed the only way to get it stabilized.

  Sex with him was always earth-shattering. She’d never experienced anything like it and doubted she would again with anyone else. She was sure that being made love to by Zion Blackstone was something she would sorely miss when she left here. Instead of counting the days till she could leave, she was wishing for a way to stop time.

  Despite the pleasure he gave her each evening, she was very much aware that Zion never spent the entire night in her bed. He would leave around one or two in the morning and return to his own room. And he never invited her there. She had no idea how it even looked.

  She tried not to let his actions bother her, but in a way they did, though not enough to make waves. She was aware of his rule. Still, deep down, she wished it could be different.

  She also tried not to let it bother her that she hadn’t heard from her father. She refused to call him, and for some reason he hadn’t contacted her. She wanted to believe he was working with the authorities on making sure those men left her alone.

  Her thoughts shifted back to Zion. She hadn’t just imagined that his mood had changed today. He had been quiet at breakfast, when he was usually talkative. And he hadn’t returned for lunch. Instead, she’d gotten a text on his burner phone saying he’d decided to work through lunch and dinner and would fix something to eat at the cottage. Was he trying to avoid her? If so, why?

  “What are you still doing up, Celine?”

  She glanced up, and when she saw Zion standing there, her heart began beating a little faster. Had he hoped she wouldn’t be around? Usually she was in bed by now...with him.

  He stood there, leaning in the doorway and looking just as sexy as he had that morning. Maybe even sexier.

  She loved a man who wore jeans that looked as if they were made just for him. And his shirt had the top two buttons undone, giving him a manly look. Too much of one.

  She couldn’t help studying his features, ones she’d thought about all day. Ones that could rattle her brain. Was she imagining it or were his eyes more intense than they had been that morning?

  She released a frustrated sigh, knowing she had missed seeing him today. Had missed spending time with him. And why was she beginning to feel his absence today had been deliberate and he was trying to avoid her?

  Why couldn’t she just answer his question and be done with it, instead of standing there like a nitwit and appreciating every single inch of him? She knew doing so couldn’t be helped. The man was so darn gorgeous. Chocolate eye candy of the most delicious kind.

  “Any reason I should be in bed?” Suddenly, her mind conjured up plenty of reasons, and all of them included him. She tried to push out of her mind just what the two of them usually were doing at this time each night.

  “I just figured you would be.”

  “I had a lot of work to do,” she said, going to sit back down at the table holding her laptop.

  “A lot to do like what?”

  If only he knew. However, she had no reason to tell him. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “I guess you’ve become an online shopper.”

  He still teased her about that, but tonight for some reason she was getting a little annoyed about it. Did he think that was all she did with her life? But then it occurred to her that he had no reason to think otherwise, and she’d told him no different. Wasn’t that what she wanted everyone to assume? So she could go about doing her business at Second Chances without being under anyone’s watchful eyes...especially those of her father? In a way, it didn’t matter, since she planned to tell him the truth when she returned to the States.

  “And why are you sitting here at the kitchen table working, when I have an office you could have used?” he asked, interrupting her thoughts.

  She’d been using his office the other days and had enjoyed doing so, thanks to the fantastic view. But today after he’d texted and said he would be missing lunch and dinner, she’d brought her laptop into the kitchen. Doing so gave her a good view of his workplace. For some reason she’d felt closer to him in here. Why she’d needed that feeling, she wasn’t sure.

  “Any reason you changed clothes?”

  So he had noticed she was wearing something different from this morning. That she had changed out of the jeans and top and was now wearing a sundress. It didn’t matter that the outside temperature was rather cool. Around noon she had begun feeling hot. It probably had something to do with him being on her mind and her reliving the memories of all those nights in his arms. Whatever the reason, she’d felt the need to take a shower, and then she’d changed.

  “No reason, other than I decided to make it a dress day. Jeans are okay, but I like wearing a dress every now and then,” she said. There was no need to mention she had nothing on underneath. No bra or panties. Other than the material of the dress, she hadn’t wanted anything else touching her skin...until he did.

  “So what were you doing?” he asked, heading to the coffeepot.

  Celine tried deciphering his mood, hoping it had improved since that morning. He was certainly full of questions, she thought, watching him cross the room and appreciating every step he took. Why did Zion Blackstone have to be so handsome, so powerfully built, with all those dreadlocks flowing around his shoulders? Why did he have to be a triple dose of masculinity on legs that could make a woman’s hormones go crazy?

  He glanced over and caught her staring, and she drew in a deep breath. Why had she been thinking about how his fine body had felt all over her, inside her?

  “Celine?”

  She blinked. “Yes?”

  “So what were you doing all day?” he asked again, after pouring a cup of coffee.

  She could tell him it was none of his business, but she was sick and tired of him thinking she was some irresponsible, jet-setting shopaholic with no direction in life. “I had several reports to do.”

  He lifted a brow. “Reports?”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “Yes, reports.” And for now, that was all he needed to know.

  Evidently, he didn’t think so, for he asked, “What kind of reports?”

  Celine was about to tell him it was none of his business when his cell phone rang. She watched him pull it out of his pocket and glance over at her. “I need to take this.”

  He then quickly walked out. Whoever was calling was evidently important. And she noted the call had come through his regular phone and not the burner. Was the caller a female?

  What if it was? What if he’d reached out to that Bettina chick and given her his regular cell number and she was the one calling? Celine still had his burner phone and Bettina hadn’t called once today. Was that why? And was that why his attitude had changed with her? Why he was trying to avoid her? Was Bettina back on the scene and Celine was cramping his style?

  Her lips tightened to a frown and she tried to calm her raging emotions and the jealousy she was beginning to feel. She drew in a deep breath, deciding to read over the report one more time before sending it to Stuart. And then she’d go to bed, knowing tonight, she would be doing so alone.

  * * *

  Zion went into his office and closed the door behind him. “Hold on for a minute, Y.”

  Zion put the phone down and drew in a deep breath. He had tried arranging it so he wouldn’t see Celine today and hadn’t counted on her still being up. She was becoming too much temptation for him. Way too much. He’d realized just how much when he found it harder and harder to leave her bed every night to return to his own. He had begun wondering how it would be to sleep through the night with her body plastered against him. How it would feel to not wear a condom while making love to her, to enjoy sex talks with her. To cuddle.

  He’d discovered Celine was someone he could talk to easily, and had even thought about telling her about his mother’s deathbed confession. Even thinking of sharing something like that with her crossed the line, and he knew immediately he needed to put distance between them while she was here. Baring his soul to any woman was something he simply refused to do.

  It was funny how he’d gone through life dating when it suited him and not getting caught up in any woman. They’d been there for his enjoyment, and he had no problem thinking he’d been there for theirs, too. When the fun time was over, he went his way and they went theirs. And there definitely had never been a woman he’d spent nights thinking about.

  Until he’d met Celine.

  Hell, he’d even spent today thinking about her, and hadn’t been able to get much work done. Out of sight and out of mind hadn’t worked for him today where she was concerned.

  Drawing in another deep breath, he put the phone back to his ear. “Thanks for holding on, Y. You got something?”

  “Yes, I got something.”

  Zion’s forehead crinkled. “What?”

  “First of all, I contacted Alessandro to get a make on those guys who’d been casing the hotel, waiting for Ms. Michaels to return. They finally left after day one, but by then I had my men in place to keep them within their scope, to see if perhaps others are involved. The tail is going to cost you.”

  Rolling his eyes, Zion said, “Whatever.”

  “Boy, you’re an easy client. Maybe I should double my price.”

  Zion shook his head. “What else is there, Y?”

  “Did you know Celine Michaels had a personal body double?”

  “A body double? No. Why would she need a body double when she’s not a full-time actress? She mentioned doing a couple of movies her father produced a few years ago, but she never caught the acting bug.” Zion was well aware that actors often used body doubles as stand-ins during stunts and nude scenes.

  “That’s what I intend to find out. It seems she uses one quite frequently to give the impression she’s in a particular place when she’s not. Earlier this year she was supposed to be in the Canary Islands for three weeks and her body double was there instead. The same thing happened four other times this year in other places. That makes me wonder where she is when she uses her body double.”

  Zion frowned. “You’re sure about this?”

  “Positive. I was watching videos of her last few trips abroad to see if perhaps I noticed the same faces in a crowd or something. I didn’t. But I did notice that although the body double is a dead ringer for Ms. Michaels from a distance, a facial scan indicates a different person. Is she living a double life for some reason?”

  Now, that was a good question, one Zion didn’t have the answer to. “Is her body double working for her somewhere now?”

  “No. It shouldn’t be difficult to find out the identity of the other woman if we need it. She’s probably the same woman who was her body double when she starred in movies a couple of times.”

  Zion didn’t say anything, but he would admit to uploading both movies to his phone a few weeks ago. Late one night when she’d been on his mind, he had watched them back to back. Both were thrillers and he’d thought her acting had been pretty damn good.

  “I’d like to know why she still uses the woman on occasion and if it has anything to do with what’s happening in Italy. What if she’s connected to whatever Nikon Anastas is mixed up in a lot more than what she’s telling you?”

  Yes, what if...

  Zion found a number of ideas going through his head. Ideas he didn’t want to consider, but knew he had to. What if Celine was involved and was using him as some sort of decoy? Using that body double had definitely shown she was a woman who couldn’t be trusted. Just like his own mother had been. Cold chills ran through him at the thought.

  “I don’t know why she would have a body double that she uses frequently, Y,” Zion said. “But you better believe I intend to find out.”

  “And there’s something else. Something just as important.”

  “What?”

  “Just as we thought. Levy Michaels lied. He hasn’t reported any kidnapping of his daughter to the FBI.”

  Zion released a frustrated breath. “Why do you think he lied about that?”

  “I don’t know. Michaels and Anastas are up to something and I’m determined to find out what.”

  And Zion intended to find out if Celine was somehow mixed up in it and playing him for a fool.

  * * *

  “We need to talk.”

  Celine looked up from her computer to find Zion standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. She could feel anger radiating off him and wondered why. If the caller had been Bettina she’d probably told him Celine had hung up on her yesterday. As far as Celine was concerned, the woman had deserved it. Celine had refused to listen to any more garbage the woman might spew during her jealousy fit.

  “I need to finish this report. We can talk tomorrow.”

  She could tell by the way his jaw tightened that he hadn’t liked that suggestion. That was too bad. She was not in the mood. She was mad at herself for thinking about him most of the day and mad at him for getting into her thoughts in the first place. She knew it sounded crazy, outright ridiculous, but at the moment she didn’t care. If he could have his mood swings then she could certainly have hers.

  “Oh, you’re wrong. We are talking tonight. I want to know why you have a body double who you use quite frequently, especially when you’re jet-setting around the world.”

  How did he know that? Now she was the one glaring. “How do you know about Tiffany?”

  “It doesn’t matter how I know. I want to know why she’s being used.”

  It did matter how he knew. Whoever had called him evidently had told him something. Who? “I’m not telling you anything.”

  He moved away from the door and began strolling toward her in a way that was both menacingly sexy and uncompromisingly dangerous at the same time. She had the good sense to save her document, feeling a confrontation coming on.