"That's your only comment when I call your manhood into question?" she asked him in confusion. She had used lines like that before, and they had always been met defensively. She enjoyed the sense of power it gave her – but his refusal to rise to the bait confused her and made her feel like she was losing control of the situation. "I've never had a man admit defeat so easily before."

"Kendall," Zach said with a short laugh. "You've probably never been with a man before. And that really is your problem… our marriage will be a business arrangement, and this," he gestured to indicate the room at large, "is not part of the deal. It amuses me to help you stir things up, but as I've said before… companionship has never been a problem and it won't be after our marriage either."

In unreasonable anger, she stood and walked over to him, pounding her fists against his chest, "Why… you…" Not noticing how close she was to the table, she tipped it and both the caviar and Zach's cognac landed on her dress. She stepped back and Zach assisted her in righting the table while she examined the damage to her dress.

"Let me get a towel for you," he said calmly before heading into the bathroom.

While he was out of the room she looked down at her now soaking and stained dress, "Zach… bring me one of the robes hanging on the door."

Zach came back in holding a couple of towels, but no robe. Without comment he opened the closet door, but did not locate a robe in there either, "Sorry… there doesn't seem to be one here. I'll call room service…"

She looked at him, still feeling the effects of her anger towards him. She didn't choose to examine why she was so angry that he had declared that theirs would be an open marriage, but it infuriated her that he would consider it that way. Instead, she vented her anger on the missing robe, "I can't believe that they forgot the robes… I'm going to have a talk with the management of this place; it's certainly gone down hill."

Zach had picked up the telephone and was starting to dial when she grabbed it out of his hand and hung it up, saying, "Give me your shirt, Zach."

"My what?" he asked in genuine confusion. "I was just going to…"

"I know what you were going to do, and I don't want room service back here so soon… it ruins the whole point of being here. We'll call them later. In the meantime, give me your shirt… I can change into it for the time being," she said firmly.

Zach shrugged his shoulders and smirked before unbuttoning his custom-made dress shirt and handing it to Kendall without comment, but clearly amused at her discomfort. She looked at him in surprise as she noted his well-muscled chest and sculptured physique. He had always been a fine specimen of a man beneath his impeccably tailored clothing, but she had not guessed quite how fine that was. She hoped that her appreciation of his form was not too apparent in her eyes as she said, "Thanks… uh… I'll just go and… and change."

Without reply, Zach began to clean up the mess made by the upset table and poured himself a fresh snifter of the potent brandy. She watched the muscles ripple across his back for a moment before locking herself into the bathroom. She removed her dress, rinsed it out in the sink and hung it across the shower rod before slipping into Zach's shirt – trying very hard not to notice or appreciate the manly scent or how pleasant the fine fabric felt against her skin. Realizing how incongruous she looked wearing strappy sandals and a man's shirt, she slipped out of the heels and placed them in a corner of the room before returning to find Zach seated comfortably on the sofa sipping his cognac as if he was fully clothed.

He smiled at her entrance, not bothering to disguise his appreciation for her very attractive legs – or how sexy she looked wearing his shirt. He waved toward the bottle and offered casually, "Would you like some more?"

"Sure… why not? It will probably have me sleeping like a baby until morning," she answered, feeling more as if she was standing before him completely unclothed than wearing his shirt.

He poured the cognac and stood to hand it to her, noticing that some of it had splashed on her cheek and was still there. Before she could comment, he leaned down and cupped her face with his free hand as he gently kissed the spot, caressing it briefly with his tongue, before pulling away, "You missed a spot."

"I… what?" she said in confusion, trying hard to ignore the tremor that ran up her spine from his light touch.

"Cognac… there was a little on your cheek," he whispered before dipping his head to caress her neck with his lips, "… and right here."

Not bothering an attempt at disguising her reaction this time, she replied, "… and did I miss anywhere else?"

He looked at her with that same wolfish grin he had used earlier at the reception and eyed her carefully. He placed a finger first in the glass of brandy that he was still holding and then placed it against her lips. A moment later he placed his lips against hers, using his tongue to tease them open and gently explore her mouth. She sighed against his lips and leaned into the broad expanse of his chest, completely surrendering herself to his caress as he entwined his free hand in her hair and held her for a moment before pulling away again. He looked at her carefully before dipping a finger into the liquor, only this time drawing it along her jaw line… following it with a kiss and caress as before. Kendall sighed as his lips and tongue whispered against her skin, losing her balance and hanging onto his muscled arms for support.

He pulled away, enjoying her reaction but needing to elicit some acknowledgement of her misjudgment before he proceeded any further, "Well… I think that's it. Would you like to select a movie before we turn in?"

"What… movie? No… you missed… I mean… I'm sure…" she stammered, wanting to feel his lips against her skin once again. Without thought she placed her own fingers in the brandy and stroked them along his chest, following with her lips and tongue as she imitated his previous actions. He stood still, enjoying the sensation and wondering what advances she might continue to make with a little encouragement. When she pulled away and made as if to dip her fingers into the glass again, he set it on a table before leaning down and lifting her in his arms. He laid her full-length on the bed, and she looked at him for a moment before looping her arms around his neck and pulling him down for another kiss, …which was whisper soft and ephemeral, rather than with the passion he had showed her earlier. He pulled away and smiled at the undisguised passion she displayed in arching toward him. Using one hand, he carefully unbuttoned his shirt while dipping the fingers of his other hand into the brandy he had set on the night table. He stroked the liquid from her collarbone down between her breasts, following the trail with his tongue as she moaned in response. She whispered his name as he proceeded to lay another trail of cognac from the opposite side of her neck and then gave her lips another whisper soft kiss. She moaned as his lips whispered along her skin, and he removed her bra and then her panties. After being divested of the last of her clothes she tried to pull him into her passionate embrace but he lifted the cognac bottle instead, tipping it and dribbling a small amount along her leg.

"You've got some… right… here…" he whispered as his lips followed the trail of the liquor from her ankle to above her knee. After repeating the procedure with her other leg , he poured a small amount of the amber nectar along her stomach and used his fingers to create a path to her breasts – following his fingers with his mouth and tongue. With her passion completely ignited, he quickly removed the remainder of his clothing and joined her on the bed.

Kendall used the bottle of expensive liqueur to create an equal ardor in Zach tasting it from his skin as he had from hers. When he could take the delicious teasing no longer, he pulled her into his arms and the nearly empty bottle to fell to the floor as they tasted the potent brew from each other's lips and tongues. Soon they were fulfilling and satisfying the passion that they had enflamed in each other… and their world narrowed to that small room with no thought of anything except their explosive release. After they had finally reached pinnacle together, Zach held her in his arms and stroked her gently as she relaxed against him. Once replete they lay dozing half in and out of sleep, in each other's arms, without the energy to move.