Bold by Nicola Marsh Page B

trawling the shops, so she only lasted a few hours before she headed back to the hotel with enough bags to make a sizable dent in her suitcase.
    Zane hadn’t returned from his tryout so she took the opportunity to soak in the giant bathtub, big enough to host a football forward line.
    Reclining in jasmine-scented bubbles should’ve soothed. Instead, memories of her confrontation with Christopher continued to plague her, closely followed by thoughts of Zane and what it meant for them.
    Zane had come to the States to get to know his family, particularly his dad. Stood to reason he had serious abandonment issues and it would take a while for him to thaw toward Christopher, but Chantal knew that the more time father and son spent together, Zane would end up forgiving his dad.
    He was that kind of guy. Optimistic. Warm-hearted. Hopeful.
    Which meant she couldn’t be a part of his life.
    Christopher may be a prejudiced old goat who despised her, but no way in hell did she want to put Zane in the middle, having to choose sides. Not when he’d only just started bonding with his dad.
    She had no idea how long he’d stay in the States for, but she knew it was time to pull back. To end things between them before they’d really started.
    It would’ve had to happen eventually anyway, with him heading back to Australia. She’d just bring forward the expiry date on their relationship. Easy.
    But the ache in her chest said otherwise. Letting Zane go wouldn’t be easy. Far from it.
    She didn’t have a choice.
    She’d been that kid, struggling for identity, needing parents to anchor her world. She’d eventually reconciled with her mom when she was twenty, two years after she learned she had a dad, only to have her mom die from pneumonia a month later at forty-four, way too young.
    She’d been devastated, filled with guilt that maybe her residual anger toward her mom had contributed in some way, but thankfully her dad had pulled her through that tough time. He’d been incredibly supportive and their bond continued to strengthen despite the lost years.
    That’s where Zane was at right now: trying to establish a bond with a father he’d never known existed. She of all people understood that. She couldn’t stand in his way.
    Once they headed back to Vegas tomorrow, she’d end it.
    In the meantime, she had one more night in LA, one more night to indulge in a selfish whim of having Zane. Again and again and again.
     
    Zane bounded into his suite like a kid on Christmas morning.
    He was pumped, high on the adrenalin rush of kicking butt at the tryouts, and spending some quality time with his dad.
    For in the few hours after the tryouts, when they’d hung out at a restaurant, eating and drinking and talking, Zane had come to think of him as Dad in his head, not Christopher.
    He was a long way off total forgiveness, but today went some way to healing the rift.
    And he had to tell Chantal all about it.
    He knocked on the interconnecting door, stuck his head around it, but she wasn’t there. Damn. He fired off a text before heading for the shower.
    But as he stepped into the bathroom, he stopped short. He’d found what he’d been looking for.
    “You’re back,” Chantal said, strutting toward him wearing a pale pink corset, matching panties, suspenders and sky-high heels. “I’ve been waiting a long time.”
    “Fuck me,” Zane murmured, unable to stop staring at her tits spilling over the corset, his cock instantly springing to attention.
    “I intend to, all night long,” she said, stopping a foot away and toying with the hem of his T-shirt. “But one of us is way overdressed.”
    Zane gritted his teeth against the urge to take her hard and fast on the bathroom sink as she peeled off his T-shirt and flung it away.
    She stood tantalizingly close, so close he could feel the heat radiating off her. She smelled like an exotic flower. Heady. Intoxicating. Her skin glowed luminous in the dimmed lights. He couldn’t wait to lick