“I’ll let you figure it out, but I will say this. You’re a lot like your mother, God bless her soul. She was beautiful both inside and out, and she loved people and loved helping them. She had a good heart. She also loved pleasing her parents. In the end, although she did try to stand up to them, she allowed them to control her life by telling her what and who should be a part of it. A part of her future. Now if you will excuse me, I’m going to add more water to this vase of flowers. And Mr. Blackstone is already in the dining room, where you are to join him for breakfast.”

  Celine’s eyes flew up. “He’s awake? I’d thought he would sleep late due to jet lag.”

  “Well, he didn’t. In fact, I heard Mr. Blackstone tell your father yesterday that he would be joining you for breakfast. I guess Mr. Michaels conveniently forgot to inform you of that, as well.”

  “Where is Dad?”

  “Out playing golf. He told me before he left that Mr. Blackstone would be your responsibility today.”

  Celine didn’t say anything for a minute and then replied in a low, distraught tone, “I almost lost Dad, Aggie.”

  “Yes, but the cancer is in remission and has been for almost five years now. You and I both know he’s using it to bend you to his will. One day you’re going to say it’s enough. I hope by then it’s not too late and you’re not already married off to Nikon Anastas.”

  Aggie then walked off.

  Celine stood there and thought about everything Aggie had said. Although she’d been young and had been sent off to boarding school during the early years of her life, she had known her parents’ marriage hadn’t been a happy one. She’d overheard conversations between the servants, as well as between her mother and Aggie. She’d discovered years ago that her mother had regretted turning her back on the man she’d truly loved to marry her father, as her parents had ordered her to do.

  Her father loved her; Celine was sure of it. But was he intentionally manipulating her love by reminding her how she’d come close to losing him when she’d been in college? Losing one parent was bad enough, but the thought of losing another had freaked her out. However, Aggie was right. Her father couldn’t keep trying to control her life.

  As far as Nikon was concerned, she honestly wasn’t attracted to him. His arrogance was a total turnoff. She merely tolerated him because her father liked the man for some reason, and she’d agreed to be seen with him around town for publicity reasons only. But she was tired of doing even that.

  Aggie was right. At some point she needed to have a talk with her father. Knowing she shouldn’t keep Zion Blackstone waiting any longer, she headed toward the breakfast room.

  * * *

  Zion glanced up when he heard footsteps, and saw Celine enter the room. When their gazes connected he noticed a mixture of riotous emotions flicker in her gaze, just for a second. Then they suddenly disappeared and a smile touched her lips. He wondered what that was about.

  “Zion, I didn’t expect to see you this early,” she said, heading for the buffet table where the cooks had set out a variety of breakfast foods. He didn’t want to stare, but he couldn’t stop gazing at her curvy backside in a pair of jeans, and how her hips swayed with every step she took.

  “I’m an early riser, but that doesn’t mean you have to be for my benefit. We could have talked over lunch.”

  She waved off his words as she turned around, and he thought the front looked just as appealing as the back when he took in her beautiful facial features and shapely breasts beneath a yellow blouse. “Meeting with you this morning is fine,” she said. “When will you be leaving LA?”

  He wondered why she wanted to know. Was his presence putting a dent in her shopping schedule? Her jetting around the globe? “Tomorrow night. I’m booked on a red-eye. After our talk I will sketch a few preliminary designs for you to look at before I leave. Once you select the ones you like, my work here is finished. When I return to Rome the real work begins.”

  She came to sit across from him at the table and he could inhale her scent. The same one from yesterday that he’d found intoxicating.

  “I regret my father had you come all the way from Rome. I’m not hard to please.”

  “You’re not?” he asked, trying to wrap his head around the fact she was saying one thing while he was obviously thinking another.

  She glanced over at him, and it was as if she’d suddenly realized her latter statement could easily be taken out of context. She met his gaze and gave him a serious look. “No, I’m not. For me jewelry is a luxury and not a necessity.”

  Zion continued to hold her gaze while taking a sip of his coffee. He wondered if she knew that when she wore a serious expression it downplayed her dimples but didn’t get rid of them altogether. What it produced was a look of irritation that he found so damn arousing he had to shift in his seat to relieve the pressure behind his zipper. “I would hope it’s the same with most people,” he said.

  “Not with my dad. There are certain big-ticket items he sees as a must-have because of the status he’s reached in life.”

  “And you don’t?”

  “No.”

  She definitely didn’t sound like the picture her father had painted of her yesterday. The girl who loved spending her daddy’s money with little to show for it afterward. Maybe the truth of the matter was she had no problem spending her father’s money, but only on things she wanted to spend it on.

  “So, what do you need to know to design this jewelry of yours?” she asked, interrupting his thoughts.

  This jewelry of mine? Zion would overlook her attitude and design the jewelry as he’d been commissioned to do. In the end, whether she appreciated her father’s kind gesture or not didn’t really concern him. “Do you have any personal tastes?”

  She lifted her eyes from her plate, and instinctively, his gaze was drawn to her lips. Beautiful, full lips. It took everything within him not to groan. “Personal tastes?”

  Oh, yeah, personal tastes, he thought, wondering what hers were. The intense sexual chemistry that had been between them last night hadn’t dimmed any. Why was that realization a hard kick to his testosterone? “Yes, personal tastes...in jewelry. Do you prefer something flashy or something simple?”

  “Simple.”

  He nodded, thinking he would have taken her for a woman who liked flashy. Still, from all accounts she liked being in the spotlight, so during those times she liked being seen, he would make sure any jewelry of his she wore was eye-catching. “You have a very active lifestyle, right?” he asked next.

  She took a sip of her coffee. “What does my lifestyle have to do with jewelry?”

  He took another sip of his. “A lot, actually. As your designer I want to make sure you fully utilize the jewelry I make for you. Your father has requested a necklace and earrings. I want to make sure the pieces are in keeping with your lifestyle, whether you’re out partying, jet-setting around the globe, shopping or whatever else you might do.”

  She didn’t say anything for a minute and then stated, “I’d like them to reflect a simple, laid-back lifestyle. Definitely nothing flashy.”

  “I find that odd, since you like being in the limelight.”

  She lifted a brow. “Who doesn’t?”

  “I don’t. I detest it all. Spotlight, limelight, interviews, the paparazzi. I’m a private person and prefer things that way.” Not wanting to get off subject, he then asked, “Do you prefer white or yellow gold?”

  “Yellow gold.”

  “Any particular gemstones you prefer?” He found the pensive look that appeared in her eyes rather arousing.

  “I know they say diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but I love rubies and sapphires.”

  Zion had been wrong in assuming she was strictly a diamond girl. “Duly noted.”

  He spent the next half hour asking her additional questions about her tastes and preferences in jewelry. In the end, he believed what she’d said earlier about not being hard to please. He could envision just the style of pieces he wanted to design for her and would make them as unique as she was.

  Unique? What exactly he found unique about her, he wasn’t sure just yet. Usually when it came to women he grouped them into two types: those who like being pursued and those who preferred doing the pursuing. Problem was, he wasn’t sure which group Celine Michaels fell in. Why did he care? There would never be anything developing between them, so it was a moot point. But still, it was hard to look at her and not think of sexual pleasure.

  “You didn’t write anything down.”

  He leaned back in his chair. The kitchen staff had come to remove their plates a while ago and had kept their coffee cups filled. “I didn’t have to. It’s all up here,” he said, tapping the side of his head. “Every customer is different and so is their taste. It’s my job to design jewelry that’s unique to them.”

  “I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”

  “I think you’ll be pleased.”

  Things suddenly got quiet, but he still noted that intense attraction between them. In a way, he should be flattered that he wasn’t losing his touch with women, but he didn’t want this one thrown into the mix. His life was already complicated. The last thing he needed was for a woman like her to muddle it even more.

  “Do you want to leave here for a while, Zion?”

  He wondered what the party girl had in mind. “Leave and go where?”

  “A place to have fun and work off nervous energy.”

  Have fun and work off nervous energy? “And just what do you have in mind, Celine?”

  It must have been not only the way he asked the question, but the sound of his voice when he did so, because she shot him a dark look before saying, “Obviously, not what you think.”

  Zion wondered if he should feel relieved or disappointed. In a way, he felt a little bit of both. “Now you have me curious.”

  “Curious enough to put yourself in my hands?”

  Put himself in her hands. He wondered if she had any idea of the vision those words sent flashing through his head. It was so vivid he had to shift in his chair again.

  Too late, she must have figured how that sounded and decided to restate it. “Curious enough to trust me?”

  He decided not to tell her that he wasn’t capable of trusting any woman. He’d found out the hard way most couldn’t be trusted. “Let’s just say curious enough to see how we’ll have fun and work off nervous energy.”

  He suddenly saw a glimmer of reluctance in her eyes. But it was too late to back out now because she did have him curious.

  “Fine,” she said, standing. “Let’s meet back here in half an hour.”

  “Okay,” he said, standing as well. “Do I need to dress differently?”

  Was he imagining things or was she taking an unnecessary amount of time to run her gaze over his jeans and polo shirt?

  She lifted her gaze back to his face. “No, what you’re wearing is fine. I’ll see you in thirty minutes.” And then she quickly walked out of the room.

  Chapter 4

  “An escape room?” Zion glanced over at Celine when she drove into the parking garage.

  She glanced back at him and smiled. “Yes. You ever been to one before?”

  He wished she hadn’t asked. He recalled a couple of years ago when he and a few of his friends in Rome had gone to one. Being the arrogant male asses they were, with the jacked-up, know-it-all attitudes they had, the eight of them figured they would set a record by escaping from the room with time to spare. Things didn’t quite happen that way. Maybe it had been the amount of wine they’d consumed when a couple of the guys had sneaked in several bottles that had basically diluted their brain cells. Whatever the reason, it had them almost beating the walls to get out. The only thing funny about it was when Alessandro hadn’t been able to hold his water any longer.

  “Yes, I’ve been to one,” he answered, deciding not to provide any details of his one and only time.

  “Then you know the rules. There are ten rooms. All locked. The only way to go from room to room is to figure out the clues.”

  He nodded. “Got it.” It would definitely work off nervous energy, although he wasn’t sure just how much fun it would be. “Will any others be joining us?” Usually there was a group of people that made up a team.

  She glanced over at him as they went inside. “Just me and you. Do you have a problem with it?”

  He didn’t if she didn’t. “No problem.”

  “Good, because right now we become a team.”

  * * *

  They had made it to room ten and now only had to find the last key. He wished he could say getting to this point had been a piece of cake, but that would not be true. As they moved from one room to the next, the clues had gotten more complicated. So far, he’d had the most fun in rooms two and six. Room two had required them to cross a floor that was made of a block of ice, in their bare feet. It had taken him three times before he’d figured the best way to get across was by jumping the distance. However, it had taken him a while to coax Celine to take a leap of faith, literally, and do it that way, as well. Watching her try making the jump made him fully aware of how she looked in her blouse and snug-fitting jeans.

  Zion couldn’t help but admire how her firm breasts pushed against her top, and the way the denim cupped her backside. He was glad she was too busy concentrating on the jump that she hadn’t noticed his arousal. He would be leaving tomorrow and the last thing he wanted was to show any interest in her. The sexual chemistry they were both victims to couldn’t be helped as long as they didn’t cave in to it and take it further.

  He intentionally shifted his concentration to remember the other rooms they’d been in. In room eight there had been a bunch of numbers on a huge movie screen. They had to come up with five movies that included numbers in the titles, and hope those five were included in the ten chances they got. Luckily for them, Sixteen Candles, Three Men and a Baby, Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve Monkeys and Seven all passed the test. They had the most fun in room five, where they’d had to dance their way out, while making sure their feet touched several hidden marks on the floor.

  Now they were in room ten, which held the golden key to getting out. Standing side by side, they faced a huge Scrabble board with the letters AELBCFIYIE and the clues “ice,” “store,” “cat,” “fry,” “car,” “happy,” “Friday,” “girl,” “constellation” and “hand.” They had to figure out the phrase in less than fifteen minutes; otherwise, it would go to an even harder phrase.

  “We can do this,” he said, glancing at Celine and ignoring her doubtful look, the same way he’d been trying to ignore her scent. Whatever perfume she was wearing had her name all over it.

  “I don’t see any connection with the clues,” she said, shaking her head.

  “Neither do I,” he admitted, standing beside her while studying the board and trying not to let her closeness and scent get to him. “I can see a cat, ice, car and store being connected.”

  “You can? How?” she asked.

  “Because those are the things you can buy at the store.”

  “What about the word fry?” she murmured.

  “Well, you can fry a cat.”

  “What?” She looked at him as if he’d lost his mind.

  “Catfish.”

  “Yes, but you can’t fry anything else listed under the clues,” she pointed out. “How’s our time?”

  He checked his watch. “Not good. Less than ten minutes.” He watched her move some of the letters around, but nothing made sense.

  “And it’s not a long phrase, with just ten letters,” she said, as she continued to try various groupings.

  “No, it’s not.” He studied the clues again. “I just don’t know what connection the others... Friday, girl, hand...”

  “Hey, wait a minute. I think we might have something here,” she said, excitedly shifting letters again.

  He watched her and then checked his watch. They had less than three minutes to go. He glanced over at her and saw the look of excitement on her face. It was crazy, but the quick movement of her hands on the board was a turn-on, because at that moment he could imagine her hands somewhere else.

  “There! We got it!”

  He blinked, then stared at what she’d come up with: Bye, Felicia. He threw his head back and laughed. “Bye, Felicia.”

  “Yes, the key points that got me thinking were ‘ice’ for Ice Cube. Friday was the movie where the term originated. And the music group Consellation had a song out called ‘Felicia’ a few years ago.”

  He nodded. “And ‘store’ was also a clue, since you go to the store to buy stuff, you usually say ‘Bye, Felicia’ with a ‘hand’ motion and Felicia is a ‘girl.’”

  “Yes. Now hurry! We need to enter it into the computer so the drawer with the golden key will open,” she said, quickly moving toward the keyboard.

  “We have less than a minute,” he said, watching her hands again as they swiftly keyed in the information. The moment she pressed the send key a bugle began playing and balloons began dropping from the ceiling, and then the drawer with the golden key opened for them.

  “We did it!” she said, jumping up and down and then curtsying. He thought the happiness and excitement on her face made her look totally adorable. “We did all ten rooms in less than an hour, Zion!”

  She reached out and grabbed him, obviously eager to share the moment. The instant they touched, it seemed something snapped between them. Something neither of them could control. They stood there staring at each other for mere seconds before Zion pulled her into his arms and lowered his mouth to hers.

  * * *

  Celine knew they were swimming in forbidden waters the moment his tongue touched hers, but she was drowning in everything there was about Zion. Things she had tried ignoring and failed miserably. As their tongues tangled, every part of her body seemed to be on some kind of sexual high. Not only was her pulse leaping furiously, but currents that felt like a multitude of itsy-bitsy shock waves began plummeting through her.